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- \ y:v • . r.Y nS. i. 


THE MYSTERY 

OF THE 

RAVENSPURS 


A ROriANCm AND DETECTIVE STORY 
or THIBET AND ENGLAND. 


BY 

FRED M. WHITE, 

Author of “The Crimson Blind,” “The Corner House,” Etc. 


Illustrations and Cover Design by 
Andre Ch. DeTakacs. 



New York: 

J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

57 Rose Street. 


f 



COPYEIGHT 1911, BY 

J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company. 


nI 


©a.A2957ii2 

Y 


THE MYSTERY OF THE 
RAVENSPURS 


CHAPTER I 

THE SHADOW OF A FEAR 

A grand old castle looks out across the North Sea, and 
fishermen toiling on the deep catch the red flash from 
Ravenspur Point, as their forefathers have done for many 
generations. 

The Ravenspurs and their great granite fortress have 
made history between them. Every quadrangle and 
watch-tower and turret has its legend of brave deeds and 
bloody deeds, of fights for the king and the glory of the 
flag. And for five hundred years there has been no 
Ravenspur who has not acquitted himself like a man. 
Theirs is a record to be proud of. 

Time has dealt lightly with the home of the Raven- 
spurs. It is probably the most perfect mediaeval castle 
in the country. The moat and the drawbridge are still 
intact; the portcullis might be worked by a child. And 
landwards the castle looks over a fair domain of broad 
acres where the orchards bloom and flourish and the red 
beeves wax fat in the pastures. 

A quiet family, a handsome family, a family passing 
rich in the world’s goods, they are strong and brave — 
a glorious chronicle behind them and no carking cares 
ahead. 

Surely, then, the Ravenspurs should be happy and con- 
tented beyond most men. Excepting the beat of the 
wings of the Angel of Death, that comes to all sooner or 

3 


4 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

later, surely no sorrow dwelt there that the hand of time 
could fail to soothe. 

And yet over them hung the shadow of a fear. 

No Ravenspur had ever slunk away from any danger, 
however great, so long as it was tangible ; but there was 
something here that turned the stoutest heart to water, 
and caused strong men to start at their own shadows. 

For five years now the curse had lain heavy on the 
house of Ravenspur. 

It had come down upon them without warning; at 
first in the guise of a series of accidents and misfortunes, 
until gradually it became evident that some cunning and 
remorseless enemy was bent upon exterminating the Ra- 
venspurs root and branch. 

There had been no warning given, but one by one the 
Ravenspurs died mysteriously, horribly, until at last no 
more than seven of the family remained. The North - 
country shuddered in speaking of the ill-starred family. 
The story had found its way into print. 

Scotland Yard had taken the case in hand; but still 
the hapless Ravenspurs died, mysteriously murdered, and 
even some of those who survived had tales to unfold of 
marvelous escapes from destruction. 

The fear grew on them like a hunting madness. From- 
first to last not one single clue, however small, had the 
murderers left behind. Family archives were ransacked 
and personal histories explored with a view to finding 
some forgotten enemy who had originated this vengeance. 
But the Ravenspurs had ever been generous and kind, 
honorable to men and true to women, and none could lay 
a finger on the blot. 

In the whole history of crime no such weird story had 
ever been told before. Why should this blow fall after 
the lapse of all these years ? What could the mysterious 
foe hope to gain by this merciless slaughter? And to 
struggle against the unseen enemy was in vain. 

As the maddening terror deepened, the most extraor- 
dinary precautions were taken to baffle the assassin. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 5 


Eighteen months ago the word had gone out for the 
gathering of the family at the castle. They had come 
without followers or retainers of any kind; every ser- 
vant had been housed outside the castle at nightfall, and 
the grim old fortress had been placed in a state of siege. 

They waited upon themselves, they superintended the 
cooking of their own food, no strange feet crossed the 
drawbridge. When the portcullis was raised, the most 
ingenious burglar would have failed to find entrance. At 
last the foe was baffled ; at last the family was safe. There 
were no secret passages, no means of entry; and here 
salvation lay. 

Alas for fond hopes ! Within the last year and a half 
three of the family had perished in the same strange and 
horrible fashion. 

There was Richard Ravenspur, a younger son of Ru- 
pert, the head of the house, with his wife and boy. Rich- 
ard Ravenspur had been found dead in his bed, poisoned 
by some lemonade ; his wife had walked into the moat in 
the darkness ; the boy had fallen from one 'of the towers 
into a stone quadrangle and been instantly killed. 

The thing was dreadful, inexplicable to a degree. The 
enemy who was doing this thing was in the midst of 
them. And yet no stranger passed those iron gates ; none 
but Ravenspurs dwelt within the walls. Eye looked into 
eye and fell again, ashamed that the other should know 
the suspicions racking each poor distracted brain. 

And there were only seven of them now — seven pallid, 
hollow-cheeked wretches, almost longing for the death 
they dreaded. 

There was Rupert Ravenspur, the head of the family, 
a fine, handsome, white-headed man, who had distin- 
guished himself in the Crimea and the Indian Mutiny. 
There was his son Gordon who some day might succeed 
him; there was Gordon’s wife and his daughter Vera. 
Then there was Geoffrey Ravenspur, the orphan son of 
one Jasper Ravenspur, who had fallen under the scourge 
two years before. 


6 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


And also there was Marion Ravenspur, the orphan 
daughter of Charles Ravenspur, another son who had 
died in India five years before of cholera. Mrs. Charles 
was there, the child of an Indian prince, and from her 
Marion had inherited the dark beauty and soft glorious 
eyes that made her beloved of the whole family. 

A strange tale surely, a hideous nightmare, and yet 
so painfully realistic. One by one they were being cut 
off by the malignant destroyer, and ere long the family 
would be extinct. It seemed impossible to fight against 
the desolation that always struck in the darkness, and 
never struck in vain. 

Rupert Ravenspur looked out from the leads above 
the castle to the open sea, and from thence to the trim 
lawns and flower beds away to the park, where the deer 
stood knee-deep in the bracken. 

It was a fair and perfect picture of a noble English 
homestead, far enough removed apparently from crime 
and violence. And yet! 

A deep sigh burst from the old man’s breast; his lips 
quivered. The shadow of that awful fear was in his 
eyes. Not that he feared for himself, for the snows of 
seventy years lay upon his head, and his life’s work was 
done. 

It was others he was thinking of. The bright bars of 
the setting sun shone on a young and graceful couple 
below coming towards the moat. A tender light filled old 
Ravenspur’s eyes. 

Then he started as a gay laugh reached his ears. The 
sound caught him almost like a blow. Where had he 
heard a laugh like that before? It seemed strangely out 
of place. And yet those two were young, and they loved 
one another. Under happier auspices, Geoffrey Raven- 
spur would some day cfome into the wide acres and noble 
revenues, and take his cousin Vera to wife. 

“May God spare them I” Ravenspur cried aloud. “Sure- 
ly the curse -must burn itself out some time, or the truth 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 7 

must come to light. If I could only live to know that 
they were happy !” 

The words were a fervent prayer. The dying sun that 
turned the towers and turrets of the castle to a golden 
glory fell on his white, quivering face. It lit up the agony 
of the strong man with despair upon him. He turned 
as a hand lay light as thistledown on his arm. 

“Amen with all my heart, dear grandfather,’^ a gentle 
voice murmured. “I could not help hearing what you 
said.” 

Ravenspur smiled mournfully. He looked down into 
a pure young face, gentle and placid, like that of a ma- 
donna, and yet full of strength. The dark brown eyes 
were so clear that the white soul seemed to gleam behind 
them. There was Hindoo blood in Marion Ravenspur’s 
veins, but she bore no trace of the fact. And, out of 
the seven surviving members of that ill-fated race, Marion 
was the most beloved. All relied upon her, all trusted 
her. In the blackest hour her courage never faltered; 
she never bowed before the unseen terror. 

Ravenspur turned upon her almost fiercely. 

“We must save Vera and Geoffrey,” he said. “They 
must be preserved. The rest of us are as nothing 
by comparison. The whole future of our race lies 
with those two young people. Watch over them, Marion ; 
shield Vera from every harm. I know that she loves 
you. Swear that you will protect her from every evil !” 

“There is no occasion to swear anything,” Marion said, 
in her clear, sweet voice. “Dear, don’t you know that I 
am devoted heart and soul to your interests ? When my 
parents died, and I elected to come here in preference to 
returning to my mother’s people, you received me with 
open arms. Do you suppose that I could ever forget the 
love and affection that have been poured upon me ? If I 
can save Vera she is already saved. But why do you 
speak like this to-day ?” 

Ravenspur gave a quick glance around him. 


8 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


‘‘Because my time has come/' he whispered hoarsely. 
“Keep this to yourself, Marion, for I have told nobody 
but you. The black assassin is upon me. I wake at 
nights with fearful pains at my heart — I cannot breathe. 
I have to fight for my life, as my brother Charles fought 
for his two years ago. To-morrow morning I may be 
found dead in my bed — as Charles was. Then there will 
be an inquest, and the doctors will be puzzled, as they 
were before.” 

“Grandfather! You are not afraid?” 

“Afraid! I am glad — glad, I tell you. I am old and 
careworn, and the suspense is gradually sapping my 
senses. Better death, swift and terrible, than that. But 
not a word of this to the rest, as you love me !” 


CHAPTER II 


THE WANDERER RETURNS 

The hour was growing late, and the family were din- 
ing in the great hall. Rupert Ravenspur sat at the head 
of the table, with Gordon’s wife opposite him. The lovers 
sat smiling and happy side by side. Across the table 
Marion beamed gently upon the company. Nothing ever 
seemed to eclipse her quiet gaiety; she was the life and 
soul of the party. There was something angelic about 
the girl as she sat there clad in soft diaphanous white. 

Lamps gleamed on the fair damask, on the feathery 
daintiness of flowers, and on the lush purple and gold 
and russet of grapes and peaches. From the walls long 
lines of bygone Ravenspurs looked down — fair women in 
hoops and farthingale, men in armor. There was a flash 
of color from the painted roof. 

Presently the soft-footed servants would quit the castle 
for the night, for under the new order of things nobody 
slept in the castle excepting the family. Also, it was 
the solemn duty of each servitor to taste every dish as it 
came to table. A strange precaution, but necessary in 
the circumstances. 

For the moment the haunting terror was forgotten. 
Wines red and white gleamed and sparkled in crystal 
glasses. Rupert Ravenspur’s worn, white face relaxed. 
They were a doomed race and they knew it ; yet laughter 
was there, a little saddened, but eyes brightened as they 
looked from one to another. 

By and by the servants began to withdraw. The cloth 
was drawn in the old-fashioned way, a long row of de- 
canters stood before the head of the house and was re- 

9 


lo THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


fleeted in the shining, brown pool of mahogany. Big log 
fires danced and glowed from the deep ingle nooks ; from 
outside came the sense of the silence. 

An aged butler stood before Ravenspur with a key on a 
salver. 

‘T fancy that is all, sir,’’ he said. 

Ravenspur rose and made his way along the corridor 
to the outer doorway. Here he counted the whole of the 
domestic staff, carefully passed the drawbridge and then 
the portcullis was raised. Ravenspur Castle and its in- 
habitants were cut off from the outer world. Nobody 
could molest them till morning. 

And yet the curl of a bitter smile was on Ravenspur’s 
face as he returned to the dining-hall. Even in the face 
of these precautions two of the garrison had gone down 
before the unseen hand of the assassin. There was some 
comfort in the reflection that the outer world was barred 
off, but it was futile, childish, in vain. 

The young people, with Mrs. Charles, had risen from 
the table and had gathered on the pile of skins and 
cushions in one of the ingle nooks. Gordon Ravenspur 
was sipping his claret and holding a cigar with a hand 
that trembled. 

Hardy man as he was, the shadow lay upon him also ; 
indeed, it lay upon them all. If the black death failed 
to strike, then madness would come creeping in its track. 
Thus it was that evening generally found the family all 
together. There was something soothing in the presence 
of numbers. 

They were talking quietly, almost in whispers. 
Occasionally a laugh would break from Vera, only to 
be suppressed with a smile of apology. Ravenspur 
looked fondly into the blue eyes of the dainty little beauty 
whom they all loved so dearly. 

‘T hope I didn’t offend you, grandfather,” she said. 

In that big hall voices sounded strained and loud. 
Ravenspur smiled. 

“Nothing you could do would offend me/’ he said, 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS ii 


^Tt may be possible that a kindly Providence will permit 
me to hear the old roof ringing with laughter again. It 
may be, perhaps, that that is reserved for strangers when 
we are all gone.” 

“Only seven left,” Gordon murmured. 

“Eight, father,” Vera suggested. She looked up from 
the lounge on the floor with the flicker of the wood fire 
in her violet eyes. “Do you know I had a strange dream 
last night. I dreamt that Uncle Ralph came home again. 
He had a great black bundle in his arms, and when the 
bundle burst open it filled the hall with a gleaming light, 
and in the center of that light was the clue to the 
mystery.” 

RavenspuFs face clouded. Nobody but Vera would 
have dared to allude to his son Ralph in his presence. 

For over Ralph Ravenspur hung the shadow of 
disgrace — a disgrace he had tried to shift on to the 
shoulders of his dead brother Charles, Marion’s father. 
Of that dark business none knew the truth but the head 
of the family. For twenty years he had never mentioned 
his erring son’s name. 

“It is to be hoped that Ralph is dead,” he said harshly. 

A somber light gleamed in his eyes. Vera glanced at 
him half timidly. But she knew how deeply her 
grandfather loved her, and this gave her courage to 
proceed. “I don’t like to hear you talk like that,” she 
said. “It is no time to be harsh or hard on anybody. 
I don’t know what he did, but I have always been sorry 
for Uncle Ralph. And something tells me he is coming 
home again. Grandfather, you would not turn him 
away ?” 

“If he were ill, if he were dying, if he suffere^I from 
some grave physical affliction, perhaps ncft. Other- 
wise ” 

Ravenspur ceased to talk. The brooding look was 
still in his eyes; his white head was bent low on his 
breast. 

Marion’s white fingers touched his hand caressingly. 


12 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


The deepest bond of sympathy existed between these 
two. And at the smile in Marion’s eye Ravenspur’s 
face cleared. 

“You would do all that is good and kind,” Marion 
said. “You cannot deceive me : oh, I know you too 
well for that. And if Uncle Ralph came now!” 

Marion paused, and the whole group looked one to 
the other with startled eyes. With nerves strung 
tightly like theirs, the slightest deviation from the 
established order of things was followed by a feeling 
of dread and alarm. And now, on the heavy silence 
of the night, the great bell gave clamorous and brazen 
tongue. 

Ravenspur started to his feet. 

“Strange that anyone should come at this time of 
night,” 'he said. “No, Gordon, I will go. There can 
be no danger, for this is tangible.” 

He passed along the halls and passages till he came 
to the outer oak. He let down the portcullis. 

“Come into the light,” he cried, “and let me see who 
you are.” 

A halting, shuffling step advanced, and presently the 
gleam of the hall lantern shone down upon the face of 
a man whose features were strangely seamed and 
§carred. It seemed as if the whole of his visage had 
been scored and carved in criss-cross lines until not one 
inch of uncontaminated flesh remained. 

His eyes were closed ; he came forward with fumbling, 
outstretched hands as if searching for some familiar 
object. The features were expressionless, but this might 
have been the result of those cruel scars. But the whole 
aspect of the man spoke of dogged, almost pathetic, 
determination. 

“You look strange and yet familiar to me,” said 
Ravenspur. “Who are you and whence do you come?” 

“I know you,” the stranger replied in a strangled 
whisper. “I could recognize your voice anywhere. You 
are my father.” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 13 


‘^And you are Ralph, Ralph, come back again !’’ 

There was horror, indignation, surprise in the cry. 
The words rang loud and clear, so loud and clear that 
they reached the dining-hall and brought the rest of 
the party hurrying out into the hall. 

Vera came forward with swift, elastic stride. With 
a glance of shuddering pity at the scarred face she laid 
a hand on Ravenspur’s arm. 

“My dream,” she whispered. “It may be the hand 
of God. Oh, let him stay!” 

“There is no place here for Ralph Ravenspur,” the 
old man cried. 

The outcast still fumbled his way forward. A 
sudden light of intelligence flashed over Gordon as he 
looked curiously at his brother. 

“I think, sir,” he said, “that my brother is suffering 
from some great affliction. Ralph, what is it? Why 
do you feel for things in that way?” 

“I must,” the wanderer replied. “I know every inch 
of the castle. I could find my way in the darkest night 
over every nook and corner. Father, I have come back 
to you. I was only to come back to you if I were in 
sore need or if I was deeply afflicted. Look at me ! Does 
my face tell you nothing?” 

“Your face is — is dreadful. And, as for your eyes, I 
cannot see them.” 

“You cannot see them,” Ralph said in that dreadful, 
thrilling, strangled whisper, “because I have no sight; 
because I am blind.” 

Without a word Ravenspur caught his unhappy son 
by the hand and led him to the dining-hall, the family 
following in awed silence. 


CHAPTER III 


THE CRY IN THE NIGHT 

The dose clutch of the silence lay over the castle like 
the restless horror that it was. The caressing drowsi- 
ness of healthy slumber was never for the hapless Raven- 
spurs now. They clung round the ingle nook till the last 
moment; they parted with a sigh and a shudder, know- 
ing that the morrow might find one face missing, one 
voice silenced for ever. 

Marion alone was really cheerful ; her smiling face, her 
gentle courage were as the cool breath of the north wind 
to the others. But for her, they would have gone mad 
with the haunting horror long since. 

She was one of the last to go. She still sat pensive in 
the ingle, her hands clasped behind her head, her eyes 
gazing with fascinated astonishment at Ralph Raven- 
spur. 

In some strange, half-defined fashion it seemed to her 
that she had seen a face scarred and barred like that be- 
fore. And in the same vague way the face reminded 
her of her native India. 

It was a strong face, despite the blight that suffering 
had laid upon it. The lips were firm and straight, the 
sightless eyes seemed to be seeking for something, hunt- 
ing as a blind wolf might have done. The long, slim, 
damp fingers twitched convulsively ; feeling upwards and 
around as if in search of something. 

Marion shuddered as she imagined those hooks of steel 
pressed about her throat, choking the life out of her. 

‘Where are you going to sleep?” Ravenspur asked 
abruptly. 


14 


iTHE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 15 

‘Tn my old room/' Ralph replied. ‘‘Nobody need 
trouble about me. I can find my way about the castle 
as well as if I had my eyes. After all I have endured, a 
blanket on the floor will be a couch of down." 

“You are not afraid of the family terror?" 

Ralph laughed. He laughed hard down in his throat, 
chuckling horribly. 

“I am afraid of nothing," he said ; “if you only knew 
what I know you would not wish to live. I tell you I 
would sit and see my right arm burnt off with slow fire 
if I could wipe out the things I have seen in the last five 
years ! I heard of the family fetish at Bombay, and that 
was why I came home. I prefer a slumbering hell to a 
roaring one." 

He spoke as if half to himself. His words were 
enigmas to the interested listeners; yet, wild as they 
seemed, they were cool and collected. 

“Some day you shall tell us your adventures," Raven- 
spur said not unkindly, “how you lost your sight, and 
whence came those strange disfigurements." 

“That you will never know," Ralph replied. “Ah, there 
are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of 
in our narrow and specious philosophy. There are some 
things it is impossible to speak of, and my trouble is one 
of them. Only to one man could I mention it, and 
whether he is alive or dead I do not know." 

Marion rose. The strangely uttered words made her 
feel slightly hysterical. She bent over Ravenspur and 
kissed him fondly. Moved by a strong impulse of pity, 
she would have done the same by her uncle Ralph, but 
that he seemed to divine her presence and her intention. 
The long, slim hands went up. 

“You must not kiss me, my child," he said. “I am 
not fit to be touched by pure lips like yours. Good- 
night." 

Marion turned away, chilled and disappointed. She 
wondered why Ralph spoke like that, why he shuddered 
at her approach as if she had been an unclean thing. 


i6 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


But in that house of singular happenings one strange 
matter more or less was nothing. 

'The light of my eyes,” Ravenspur murmured. "After 
Vera, the creature I love best on earth. What should 
we do without her ?” 

"What, indeed?” Ralph said quietly. "I cannot see, 
but I can feel what she is to all of you. Good-night, 
father, and thank you.” 

Ravenspur strode off with a not unkindly nod. As a 
matter of fact, he was more moved by the return of the 
wanderer and his evident sufferings and misfortunes than 
he cared to confess. He brooded over these strange 
things till at length he lapsed into troubled and uneasy 
slumber. 

The intense gripping silence deepened. Ralph Raven- 
spur still sat in the ingle with his face bent upon the 
glowing logs as if he could see, and as if he was seeking 
for some inspiration in the sparkling crocus flame. 

Then without making the slightest noise, he crept 
across the hall, feeling his way along with his finger-tips 
to the landing above. 

He had made no idle boast. He knew every inch of 
the castle. Like a cat he crept to his own room, and 
there, merely discarding his coat and boots, he took a 
blanket from the bed. 

Into the corridor he stepped and then, lying down 
under the hangings of Cordova leather, wrapped himself 
up cocoon fashion in his blanket and dropped into a 
sound sleep. The mournful silence brooded, the rats 
scratched behind the oaken paneled walls. 

Then out of the throat of the darkness came a stifled 
cry. It was the fighting rattle made by the strong man 
suddenly deprived of the power to breathe. 

Again it came, and this time more loudly, with a ring 
of despair in it. In the dead silence it seemed to fill the 
whole house, but the walls were thick, and beyond the 
corridor there was no cognizance of anything being in 
the least wrong. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 17 

But the man in the blanket against the arras heard it 
and struggled to his feet. A long period of vivid per- 
sonal danger had sharpened his senses. His knowledge 
of woodcraft enabled him to locate the cry to a yard. 

“My father/’ he whispered; “I am only just in time.” 

He felt his way rapidly, yet noiselessly, along the few 
feet between his resting-place and Ravenspur’s room. 
Imminent as the peril was, he yet paused to push his 
blanket out of sight. As he came to the door of Raven- 
spur’s room the cry rose higher. He stooped and then 
his fingers touched something warm. 

“Marion,” he said; “I can catch the subtle fragrance 
of your hair.” 

The girl swallowed a scream. She was trembling from 
head to foot with fear and excitement. It was dark, the 
cry from within was despairing, the intense horror of it 
was dreadful. 

“Yes, yes,” she whispered hoarsely. “I was lying 
awake and I heard it. And that good old man told me 
to-day that his time was coming. I — I was going to 
rouse the house. The door is locked.” 

“Do nothing of the sort. Stand aside.” 

The voice was low but commanding. Marion obeyed 
mechanically. With great strength and determination 
Ralph flung himself against the door. At the second 
assault the rusty iron bolt gave and the door flew open. 

Inside, Ravenspur lay on his bed. By his bedside a 
nightlight cast a feeble pallid ray. There was nobody 
in the room besides Ravenspur himself. He lay back 
absolutely rigid, a yellow hue was over his face like a 
painted mask, his eyes were wide open, his lips twitched 
convulsively. Evidently he was in some kind of cataleptic 
fit and his senses had not deserted him. 

He was powerless to move and made no attempt to do 
so. The man was choking to death and yet his limbs 
were rigid. A sickly sweet odor filled the room and 
caused Ralph to double up and gasp for breath. It was 
as if the whole atmosphere was drenched with a fine spray 


i8 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


of chloroform. Marion stood in the doorway like a fas- 
cinated white statue of fear and despair. 

‘‘What is it?” she whispered. “What is that choking 
smell?” 

Ralph made no reply; he was holding his breath hard. 
There was a queer grinning smile on his face as he 
turned toward the window. 

The fumbling clutching long hands rested for a mo- 
ment on Ravenspur’s forehead, and the next moment 
there was a sound of smashing glass, as with his naked 
fists Ralph beat in the lozenge-shaped windows. 

A quick cool draught of air rushed through the room, 
and the figure on the bed ceased to struggle. 

“Come in,” said Ralph. “There is no danger now.” 

Marion entered. She was trembling from head to 
foot ; her face was like death. 

“What is it, what is it?” she cried. “Uncle Ralph, 
do you know what it is ?” 

“That is a mystery,” Ralph replied. “There is some 
fiend at work here. I only guessed that the sickly odor 
was the cause of the mischief. You are better, sir?” 

Ravenspur was sitting up in bed. The color had come 
back to his lips ; he no longer struggled to breathe. 

“I am all right,” he said. His eyes beamed affection- 
ately on Marion. “Ever ready and ever quick, child, 
you saved my life from that nameless horror.” 

“It was Uncle Ralph,” said Marion. “I heard your 
cry, but Uncle Ralph was here as soon as I was. And 
it was a happy idea of his to break the window.” 

“It was that overpowering drug,” said Ravenspur. 
“What it is and where it came from must always remain 
a mystery. This is a new horror to haunt me — and yet 
there were others who died in their beds mysteriously. 
I awoke to find myself choking; I was stifled by that 
sweet-smelling stuff; I could feel that my heart was 
growing weaker. But go, my child ; you will catch your 
death of cold. Go to bed.” 

AVith an unsteady smile Marion disappeared. As she 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 19 


closed the door behind her, Ravenspur turned and 
grasped his son’s wrist fiercely. 

“Do you know anything of this?” he demanded. “You 
are blind, helpless; yet you were on the spot instantly. 
Do you know anything of this, I say ?” 

Ralph shook his head. 

“It was good luck,” he said. “And how should I 
know anything ? Ah, a blind man is but a poor 
detective.” 

Yet as Ralph passed to his strange quarters, there was 
a queer look on his face. The long lean claws were 
crooked as if they were fastened about the neck of some 
enemy, some foe to the death. 

“The hem of the mystery,” he muttered. “Patience 
and prudence, and the day shall come when I shall have 
it by the throat, and such a lovely throat, too !” 


CHAPTER IV 




10 1 BRANT STREET 

There was nothing about the house to distinguish it 
from its stolid and respectable neighbors. It had a 
dingy face, woodwork painted a dark red with the tra- 
ditional brass knocker and bell-pull. The windows were 
hung with curtains of the ordinary type, the Venetian 
blinds were half down, which in itself is a sign of middle- 
class respectability. In the center of the red door was a 
small brass plate bearing the name of Dr. Sergius 
Tchigorsky. 

Not that Dr. Tchigorsky was a medical practitioner in 
the ordinary sense of the word. No neatly appointed 
“pillbox” ever stood before loi ; no patient ever passed 
the threshold. 

Tchigorsky was a savant and a traveler to boot; a 
man who dealt ip strange out-of-the-way things, and the 
interior of his house would have been a revelation to the 
top-hatted, frock-coated doctors and lawyers and City 
men who elected to make their home in Brant Street, W. 

The house was crammed with curiosities and souvenirs 
of travel from basement to garret. A large sky-lighted 
billiard-room at the back of the house had been turned 
into a library and laboratory combined. 

And here, when not traveling, Tchigorsky spent all 
his time, seeing strange visitors from time to time, Mon- 
golians, Hindoos, natives of Tibet — for Tchigorsky was 
one of the three men who had penetrated to the holy city 
of Lassa, and returned to tell the tale. 

The doctor came into his study from his breakfast, 
and stood ruminating, rubbing his hands before the fire. 

20 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 21 


In ordinary circumstances he would have been a fine man 
of over six feet in height. 

But a cruel misfortune had curved his spine, while his 
left leg dragged almost helplessly behind him, his hands 
were drawn up as if the muscles had been cut and then 
knotted up again. 

Tchigorsky had entered Lassa five years ago as a god 
who walks upright. When he reached the frontier six 
months later he was the wreck he still remained. And 
of those privations and sufferings Tchigorsky said noth- 
ing. But there were times when his eyes gleamed and 
his breath came short and he pined for the vengeance yet 
to be his. 

As to his face, it was singularly strong and intellectual. 
Yet it was disfigured with deep seams checkered like a 
chessboard. We have seen something like it before, for 
the marks were identical with those that disfigured Ralph 
Ravenspur and made his face a horror to look upon. 

A young man rose from the table where he was mak- 
ing some kind of an experiment. He was a fresh-colored 
Englishman, George Abell by name, and he esteemed it a 
privilege to call himself Tchigorsky’s secretary. 

“Always early and always busy,” Tchigorsky said. “Is 
there anything in the morning papers that is likely to 
interest me, Abell ?” 

“I fancy so,” Abell replied thoughtfully. “You are 
interested in the Ravenspur case ?” 

A lurid light leapt into the Russian’s eyes. He seemed 
to be strangely moved. He paced up and down the 
room, dragging his maimed limb after him. 

“Never more interested in anything in my life,” he 
said. “You know as much of my past as any man, but 
there are matters, experiences unspeakable. My face, 
my ruined frame! Whence come these cruel misfor- 
tunes ? That secret will go down with me to the grave. 
Of that I could speak to one man alone, and I know not 
whether that man is alive or dead.” 

Tchigorsky’s words trailed off into a rambling inco- 


22 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


herent murmur. He was far away with his own gloomy 
and painful thoughts. Then he came back to earth with 
a start. He stood with his back to the fireplace, con- 
templating Abell. 

“I am deeply interested in the Ravenspur case, as you 
know,” he said. ‘‘A malignant fiend is at work yonder — 
a fiend with knowledge absolutely supernatural. You 
smile ! I myself have seen the powers of darkness doing 
the bidding of mortal man. All the detectives in Europe 
will never lay hands upon the destroyer of the Raven- 
spurs. And yet, in certain circumstances, I could.” 

‘Then, in that case, sir, why don’t you ?” 

“Do it? I said in certain circumstances. I have part 
of a devilish puzzle; the other part is in the hands of a 
man who may be dead. I hold half of the bank-note; 
somebody else has the other moiety. Until we can come 
together, we are both paupers. If I can find that other 
man, and he has the nerve and the pluck he used to pos- 
sess, the curse of the Ravenspurs will cease. But, then, 
I shall never see my friend again.” 

“But you might solve the problem alone.” 

“Impossible. That man and myself made a most 
hazardous expedition in search of dreadful knowledge. 
That formula we found. For the purposes of safety, we 
divided it. And then we were discovered. Of what fol- 
lowed I dare not speak. I dare not even think. 

“I escaped from my dire peril, but I cannot hope that 
my comrade was so fortunate. He must be dead. And, 
without him, I am as powerless as if I knew nothing. I 
have no proof. Yet I know quite well who is responsible 
for those murders at Ravenspur.” 

Abell stared at his chief in astonishment. He knew 
Tchigorsky too well to doubt the evidence of his simple 
word. The Russian was too strong a man to boast. 

“You cannot understand,” he said. “It is impossible 
to understand without the inner knowledge that I possess, 
and even my knowledge is not perfect. Were I to tell 
the part I know I should be hailed from one end of Eng- 


iTHE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 23 

land to the other as a madman. I should be imprisoned 
for malignant slander. But if the other man turned up — 
if only the other man should turn up !” 

Tchigorsky broke into a rambling reverie again. 
When he emerged to mundane matters once more he 
ordered Abell to read the paragraph relating to the latest 
phase of the tragedy of the lost Ravenspur. 

“It runs,” said Abell, “ ‘Another Strange AfYair at 
Ravenspur Castle. The mystery of this remarkable case 
still thickens. Late on Wednesday night Mr. Rupert 
Ravenspur, the head of the family, was awakened by a 
choking sensation and a total loss of breath. On attempt- 
ing to leave his bed, the unfortunate gentleman found 
himself unable to move. 

“ ‘He states that the room appeared to be filled with a 
fine spray of some sickly, sweet drug or liquid that 
seemed to act upon him as chloroform does on a subject 
with a weak heart. Mr. Ravenspur managed to cry out, 
but the vapor held him down, and was slowly stifling 
him ’ ” 

“Ah,” Tchigorsky cried. “Ah, I thought so. Go on!” 

His eyes were gleaming ; his whole face glistened with 
excitement. 

“ ‘Providentially the cry reached the ears of another 
of the Ravenspurs. This gentleman burst open his 
father’s door, and noticing the peculiar, pungent odor, 
had the good sense to break a window and admit air into 
the room. 

“ ‘This prompt action was the means of saving the life 
of the victim, and it is all the more remarkable because 
it was carried out by a Mr. Ralph Ravenspur, a blind 
gentleman, who had just returned from foreign parts.’ ” 

A cry — a scream broke from Tchigorsky ’s lips. He 
danced about the room like a madman. For the time 
being it was impossible for the astonished secretary to 
determine whether this was joy or anguish. 

“You are upset about something, sir,” he said. 

Tchigorsky recovered himself by a violent effort that 


24 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


left him trembling like a reed swept in the wind. He 
gasped for breath. 

“It was the madness of an overwhelming joy!” he 
cried. “I would cheerfully have given ten years of my 
life for this information. Abell, you will have to go to 
Ravenspur for me to-day.” 

Abell said nothing. He was used to these swift sur- 
prises. 

“You are to see this Ralph Ravenspur, Abell,” con- 
tinued Tchigorsky. “You are not to call at the castle; 
you are to hang about till you get a chance of delivering 
my message unseen. The mere fact that Ralph Raven- 
spur is blind will suffice for a clue to his identity. Look 
up the time-table!” 

Abell did so. He found a train to land him at Biston 
Junction, some ten miles from his destination. Half an 
hour later he was ready to start. From an iron safe 
Tchigorsky took a small object and laid it in Abell’s 
hand. 

“Give him that,” he said. “You are simply to say: 
‘Tchigorsky — Danger,’ and come away, unless Ralph 
Ravenspur desires speech with you. Now, go. And as 
you value your life, do not lose that casket.” 

It was a small brass box no larger than a cigarette 
case, rusty and tarnished, and covered with strange char- 
acters, evidently culled from some long-forgotten tongue. 


CHAPTER V 


A RAY OF LIGHT 

A sense of expectation, an uneasy feeling of moment- 
ous events about to happen, hung over the doomed 
Ravenspurs. For once, Marion appeared to feel the 
strain. Her face was pale, and, though she strove hard 
to regain the old gentle gaiety, her eyes were red and 
swollen with weeping. 

All through breakfast she watched Ravenspur in 
strange fascination. He seemed to have obtained some 
kind of hold over her. Yet nothing could be more patient, 
dull, and stolid than the way in which he proceeded with 
the meal. He appeared to dwell in an unseen world of 
his own ; the stirring events of the previous night had left 
no impression on him whatever. 

For the most part, they were a sad and silent party. 
The terror that walked by night and day was stealing 
closer to them; it was coming in a new and still more 
dreadful form. Accident or the intervention of Provi- 
dence had averted a dire tragedy; but it would come 
again. 

Ravenspur made light of the matter. He spoke of 
the danger as something past. Yet it was impossible 
wholly to conceal the agitation that filled him. He saw 
Marion's pale, sympathetic face; he saw the heavy tears 
in Vera's eyes, and a dreadful sense of his absolute im- 
potence came upon him. 

‘‘Let us forget it," he said almost cheerfully. “Let us 
think no more of the matter. No doubt, science can 
explain this new mystery." 

The speaker's sightless eyes were turned upwards; he 

25 


26 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


seemed to be thinking aloud rather than addressing the 
company generally. Marion turned as if something had 
stung her. 

“Uncle Ralph knows something that he conceals from 
us/' she cried. 

Ralph smiled. Yet he had the air of one who is dis- 
pleased with himself. 

“I know many things that are mercifully concealed 
from pure natures like yours,” he said. “But as to what 
happened last night I am as much in the dark as any 
of you. Ah, if I were not blind !” 

A strained silence followed. One by one the company 
rose until the room was deserted, save for Ralph Raven- 
spur and his nephew Geoffrey. The handsome lad’s face 
was pale, his lips quivered. 

“I am dreadfully disappointed, uncle,” he observed. 

“Meaning from your tone that you are disappointed 
with me, Geoff. Why?” 

“Because you spoke at first as if you understood things. 
And then you professed to be as ignorant as the rest of 
us. Oh, it is awful ! I — I would not care so much if I 
were less fond of Vera than I am. I love her; I love 
her with my whole heart and soul. If you could only 
see the beauty of her face you would understand. 

“And yet when she kisses me good-night I am never 
sure that it is not for the last time. I feel that I must 
wake up presently to find that all is an evil dream. And 
we can do nothing, nothing, nothing but wait and tremble 
and — die.” 

Ralph had no reply ; indeed there was no reply to this 
passionate outburst. The blind man rose from the table 
and groped his way to the door with those long hands 
that seemed to be always feeling for something like the 
tentacles of an octopus. 

“Come with me to your grandfather’s room,” he said. 
“I want you to lend me your eyes for a time.” 

Geoffrey followed willingly. The bed room was exactly 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 27 

as Ravenspur had quitted it, for as yet the housemaid 
had not been there. 

'‘Now look round you carefully,” said Ralph. “Look 
for something out of the common. It may be a piece of 
rag, a scrap of paper, a spot of grease, or a dab of some 
foreign substance on the carpet. Is there a fire laid 
here?” 

“No,” Geoffrey replied. “The grate is a large open 
one. I will see what I can find.” 

The young fellow searched minutely. For some time 
no reward awaited his pains. Then his eyes fell upon 
the hearthstone. 

“I can only see one little thing,” he said. 

“In a business like this, there are no such matters as 
little things,” Ralph replied. “A clue that might stand 
on a pin’s point often leads to great results. Tell me 
what it is that attracts your attention.” 

“A bronze stain on the hearthstone. It is about the 
size of the palm of one’s hand. It looks very like a piece 
of glue dabbed down.” 

“Take a knife and scrape it up,” said Ralph. He spoke 
slowly and evidently under excitement well repressed. 
“Wrap it in your handkerchief and give it to me. Has 
the stuff any particular smell ?” 

“Yes,” said Geoffrey. “It has a sickly sweet odor. I 
am sure that I never smelt anything like it before.” 

“Probably not. There, I have no further need of your 
services, and I know that Vera is waiting for you. One 
word before you go — you are not to say a single word 
to a soul about this matter ; not a single soul, mind. And 
now I do not propose to detain you any longer.” 

Geoffrey retired with a puzzled air. When the echo 
of his footsteps had died away, Ralph rose^nd crept out 
upon the leads. He was shivering with excitement ; there 
was a look of eager expectation, almost of triumph, on 
his face. 

He felt his way along the leads until he came to a 


28 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


group of chimneys, about the center one of which he 
fumbled with his hands for some time. 

Then the look of triumph on his face grew more 
marked and stronger. 

“Assurance doubly sure,’’ he whispered. His voice 
croaked hoarsely with excitement. “If I had only some- 
body here whom I could trust! If I told anybody here 
whom I suspected they would rise like one person, and 
hurl me into the moat. And I can do no more than sus- 
pect. Patience, patience, and yet patience.” 

From the terrace came the sound of fresh young voices. 
They were those of Vera and Geoffrey talking almost 
gaily as they turned their steps toward the granite cliffs. 
For the nerves of youth are elastic and they throw off 
the strain easily. 

They walked along side by side until they came to 
the cliffs. Here the rugged ramparts rose high with 
jagged indentations and rough hollows. There were 
deep cups and fissures in the rocks where a regiment of 
soldiers might lie securely hidden. For miles the gorse 
was flushed with its golden glory. 

“Let us sit down and forget our troubles,” said Geoff- 
rey. “How restful the time if we could sail away in a 
ship, Vera, away to the ends of the earth, where we could 
hide ourselves from this cruel vendetta and be at peace. 
What use is the Ravenspur property to us when we are 
doomed to die?” 

Vera shuddered slightly and the exquisite face grew 
pale. 

“They might spare us,” she said plaintively. “We are 
young and we have done no harm to anybody. And yet 
I have not lost all faith. I feel certain that Heaven above 
us will not permit this hideous slaughter to continue.” 

She laid her trembling fingers in Geoffrey’s hand, and 
he drew her close to him and kissed her. 

“It seems hard to look into your face and doubt it, 
dearest,” he said. “Even the fiend who pursues us would 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 29 

hesitate to destroy you. But I dare not, I must not, think 
of that. If you are taken away I do not want to live.’' 

“Nor I either, Geoff. Oh, my feelings are similar to 
yours !” 

The dark violet eyes filled with tears, the fresh breeze 
from the sea ruffled Vera’s fair hair and carried her 
sailor hat away up the cliff. It rested, perched upon a 
gorse bush overhanging one of the ravines or cups in 
the rock. As Geoffrey ran to fetch the hat he looked 
over. 

A strange sight met his astonished gaze. The hollow 
might have been a small stone quarry at some time. Now 
it was lined with grass and moss, and in the center of 
the cup, which had no fissure or passage of any kind, 
two men were seated bending down over a small shell 
or gourd placed on a fire of sticks. 

In ordinary circumstances there would have been noth- 
ing strange in this, for the sight of peripatetic hawkers 
and tinkers along the cliffs was not unusual. 

But these men did not belong to that class. They 
were tall and spare; they were clad in dingy robes; on 
their heads were turbans of the same sad color. They 
were dark of feature, with thin faces and ragged beards. 
In appearance they were singularly alike; indeed, they 
might have been twin brothers some time past the prime 
of life. 

From the shell on the ground a thick vapor was rising. 
The smell of it floated on the air to Geoffrey’s nostrils. 
He reeled back almost sick and faint with the perfume 
and the discovery he had made. For that infernal stuff 
had exactly the same smell as the pungent drug which 
had come so near to destroying the life of Rupert Raven- 
spur only a few hours before. 

Here was something to set the blood tingling in the 
veins and the pulses leaping with a mad excitement. 
From over the top of the gorse Geoffrey watched with 
all his eyes. He saw the smoke gradually die away; he 


30 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


saw a small mass taken from the gourd and carefully 
stowed away in a metal box. Then the fire was kicked 
out and all traces of it were obliterated. 

Geoffrey crept back again to Vera, trembling from 
head to foot. He had made up his mind what to do. 
He would say nothing of this strange discovery to Vera; 
he would keep it for Ralph Ravenspur’s ears alone. 
Ralph had been in foreign parts and might understand 
the enigma. 

Meanwhile it became necessary to get out of the 
Asiatics’ way. It was not prudent for them to know that 
a Ravenspur was so close. Vera looked into Geoffrey’s 
face, wondering. 

“How pale you are!” she said. “And how long you 
have been !” 

“Come and let us walk,” said Geoffrey. “I — I twisted 
my ankle on a stone and it gave me a twinge or two. It’s 
all right now. Shall we see if we can get as far as Sprawl 
Point and back before luncheon?” 

Vera rose to the challenge. She rather prided herself 
on her powers as a walker. The exercise caused her to 
glow and tingle, and all the way it never occurred to 
her how silent and abstracted Geoffrey had become. 


CHAPTER VI 


ABELL CARRIES OUT HIS ERRAND 

When Ralph Ravenspur reached the basement, his 
whole aspect had changed. For the next day or two 
he brooded about the house, mainly with his own thoughts 
for company. He was ubiquitous. His silent, cat-like 
tread carried him noiselessly everywhere. He seemed to 
be looking for something with those sightless eyes of 
his ; those long fingers were crooked as if about the throat 
of the great mystery. 

He came into the library where Rupert Ravenspur and 
Marion were talking earnestly. He dropped in upon 
them as if he had fallen from the clouds. Marion started 
and laughed. 

‘T declare you frighten me,’^ she said. “You are like 
a shadow — the shadow of one’s conscience.” 

“There can be no shadow on yours,” Ralph replied. 
“You are too pure and good for that. Never, never will 
you have cause to fear me.” 

“All the same, I wish you were less like a cat,” Raven- 
spur exclaimed petulantly, as Marion walked smilingly 
away. “Anybody would imagine that you were part of 
the family mystery. Ralph, do you know anything?” 

“I am blind,” Ralph replied doggedly. “Of what use 
is a blind man?” 

“I don’t know; they say that when one sense is lost 
the others are sharpened. And you came home so mys- 
teriously, you arrived at a critical moment for me, you 
were at my door at the time when help was sorely needed. 
Again, when you burst my door open you did the only 
thing that could have saved me.” 

31 


32 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“Common sense, sir. You were stifling and I gave 
you air.'’ 

Ravenspur shook his head. He was by no means 
satisfied. 

“It was the common sense that is based upon practical 
experience. And you prowl about in dark corners; you 
wander about the house in the dead of the night. You 
hint at a strange past, but as to that past you are dumb. 
For Heaven’s sake, if you know anything tell me. The 
suspense is maddening.” 

“I know nothing and I am blind,” Ralph repeated. “As 
to my past, that is between me and my Maker. I dare 
not speak of it. Let me go my own way and do not 
interfere with me. And whatever you do or say, tell 
nobody — nobody, mind — that you suspect me of knowl- 
edge of the family trouble.” 

Ralph turned away abruptly and refused to say more. 
He passed from the castle across the park slowly, but 
with the confidence of a man who is assured of every 
step. The recollection of his boyhood’s days stood him 
in good stead. He could not see, but he knew where he 
was and even the grim cliffs held no terrors for him. 

He came at length to a certain spot where he paused. 
It was here years ago that he had scaled the cliffs at the 
peril of his neck and found the raven’s nest. He caught 
the perfume of the heather and the crushed fragrance 
of the wild thyme, but their scents were as nothing to 
his nostrils. 

For he had caught another scent that had brought him 
up all standing with his head in the air. The odor was 
almost exhausted; there was merely a faint suspicion of 
it, but at the same time it spoke to Ralph as plainly as 
words. 

He was standing near the hollow where Geoffrey had 
been two days ago. In his mind’s eye Ralph could see 
into this hollow. Years before he had been used to lie 
there winter evenings when the brent and ducks were 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 33 


coming in from the sea. He scrambled down, sure-footed 
as a goat. 

Then he proceeded to grope upon the grass with those 
long restless fingers. He picked up a charred stick or 
two, smelt it, and shook his head. Presently his hand 
closed upon the burnt fragments of a gourd. As Ralph 
raised this to his nostrils his eyes gleamed. 

‘T was certain of it,” he muttered. ‘‘Two of the 
Bonzes have been here, and they have been making the 
pi. If I could only see !” 

As yet he had not heard of Geoffrey’s singular dis- 
covery. There had been no favorable opportunity of 
disclosing the secret. 

Ralph retraced his steps moodily. For the present he 
was helpless. He had come across the clue to the enigma, 
but only he knew of the tremendous difficulties and 
dangers to be encountered before the heart of the mystery 
could be revealed. He felt cast down and discouraged. 
There was bitterness in his heart for those who had de- 
prived him of his precious sight. 

“Oh, if I could only see !” he cried. “A week or month 
to look from one eye into another, to strip off the mask 
and lay the black soul bare. And yet if the one only 
guessed what I know, my life would not be worth an 
hour’s purchase! And if those people at the castle only 
knew that the powers of hell — living, raging hell — were 
arrayed against them ! But they would not believe.” 

An impotent sigh escaped the speaker. Just for the 
moment his resolution had failed him. It was some time 
before he became conscious of the fact that some one 
was dogging his footsteps. 

“Do you want to see me ?” he demanded. 

There was no reply for a moment. Abell came up 
cautiously. He looked around him, but so far as he 
could see he and Ravenspur were alone. As he caught 
sight of the latter’s face he had no ground for further 
doubt. 

“I did want to see you and see you alone, sir,” Abell 


34 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 

replied. ‘T believe I have the pleasure of speaking to 
Mr. Ralph Ravenspur?’' 

“The same, sir,” Ralph said coldly. “You are a 
stranger to me.” 

“A stranger who brings a message from a friend. I 
was to see you alone and for two days I have been wait- 
ing for this opportunity. My employer asks me to deliver 
this box into your hands.” 

At the same time Abell passed the little brass case into 
Ralph’s hand. As his fingers closed upon it a great light 
swept over his face; a hoarse shout came from lips that 
turned from red to blue, and then to white and red again. 
So Tchigorsky had behaved when he discovered that this 
man still lived. 

“Who gave you this, and what is your message?” 
Ravenspur panted. 

“The message,” said Abell, “was merely this. I was 
to give you the box and say : ‘Tchigorsky — Danger,’ and 
walk away, unless you detained me.” 

“Then my friend Tchigorsky is alive?” 

“Yes, sir ; it is my privilege to be his private secretary.” 

“A wonderful man,” Ralph cried; “perhaps the most 
wonderful man in Europe. And to think that he is alive ! 
If an angel had come down from heaven and asked me 
to crave a boon, I should have asked to have Tchigorsky 
in the flesh before me. You have given me new heart 
of grace; you are like water in a dry land. This is the 
happiest day I have known since ” 

The speaker paused and mumbled something inco- 
herent. But the stolid expression had gone from his 
scarred face, and a strange, triumphant happiness reigned 
in its stead. He seemed years younger, his step had grown 
more elastic; there was a fresh, broad ring in his voice. 

“Tchigorsky will desire to see me,” he said. “Indeed, 
it is absolutely essential that we should meet and that 
without delay. A time of danger lies before us — danger 
that the mere mortal does not dream of. Take this to 
Tchigorsky and be careful of it.” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 35 


He drew from a chain inside his vest a small case, 
almost identical to the one that Abell had just handed 
to him, save that it was silver, while the other was brass. 
On it were the same queer signs and symbols. 

“That will convince my friend that the puzzle is intact,” 
he continued. “We hold the key to the enigma — nay, 
the key to the past and future. But all this is so much 
Greek to you. I will come and see my friend on Friday; 
but not in the guise of Ralph Ravenspur.” 

“What am I to understand by that, sir?” Abell asked. 

“It matters nothing what you understand,” Ralph cried. 
“Tchigorsky will know. Tell him 7:15 at Euston on 
Friday, not in the guise of Ravenspur or Tchigorsky. 
He will read between the lines. Go and be seen with me 
no more.” 

Ralph strode off with his head in the air. His blood 
was singing in his ears; his pulse was leaping with a 
new life. 

“At last,” he murmured ; “after all these years for my- 
self and my kin ! At last 1” 


1 


CHAPTER VII 


MORE LIGHT 

There was a curious, eager flush on Ralph Ravenspur’s 
face. He rose from his seat and paced the room rest- 
lessly. Those long fingers were incessantly clutching at 
something vague and unseen. And, at the same time, 
he was following the story that Geoffrey had to tell with 
the deepest attention. 

‘‘What does it mean, uncle?’’ the young man asked at 
length. 

“I cannot tell you,” Ralph replied. His tones were 
hard and cold. “There are certain things no mortal can 

understand unless ; but I must not go into that. 

It may be that you have touched the fringe of the 
mystery ” 

“I am certain that we are on the verge of a discovery !” 
Geoffrey cried eagerly. “I am sure that stuff those 
strangers were making was the same as the drug or what- 
ever it was that came so near to making an end of my 
grandfather. If I knew what to do !” 

“Nothing — do nothing, as you hope for the future!” 

The words came hissing from Ralph’s lips. He felt 
his way across to Geoffrey and laid a grip on his arm 
that seemed to cut like a knife. 

“Forget it I” he whispered. “Fight down the recollec- 
tion of the whole thing; do nothing based upon your 
discovery. I cannot say more, but I am going to give 
you advice worth much gold. Promise me that you will 
forget this matter ; that you will not mention it to a soul. 
Promise !” 

Geoffrey promised, somewhat puzzled and dazed. Did 

36 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 37 

Ralph know everything, or was he as ignorant as the 
rest? 

‘T will do what you like,’’ said Geoffrey. ‘‘But it is 
very hard. Can’t you tell me a little more? I am brave 
and strong.” 

“Courage and strength have nothing to do with it. A 
nation could do nothing in this case. I am going to 
London to-day.” 

“You are going to London alone?” 

“Why not? I came here from the other side of the 
world alone. I have to see a doctor about my eyes. No, 
there is no hope that I can ever recover my sight again; 
but it is possible to allay the pain they give me.” 

Ralph departed. A dogcart deposited him at Biston 
Junction, and then the servant saw him safely into the 
London train. But presently Ralph alighted and a porter 
guided him to a cab. A little later and the blind man 
was knocking at the door of a cottage in the poorer por- 
tion of the town. 

A short, stocky man, with a seafaring air, opened the 
door. 

“Is it you, Elphick ?” Ralph asked. 

The short man with the resolute face and keen, gray 
eyes exclaimed with pleasure: 

“So you’ve got back at last, sir. Come in, sir. I am 
alone here as you know. I knew you’d want me before 
long.” 

Ralph Ravenspur felt his way to a chair. James 
Elphick stood watching him with something more than 
pleasure in his eyes. 

“We have no time to spare,” Ralph exclaimed. “We 
must be in London to-night, James. I am going up to 
see Dr. Tchigorsky.” 

“Dr. Tchigorsky!” Elphick exclaimed. “Didn’t I 
always say as how he’d get through? The man who’d 
get the best of him ain’t born yet. But it means danger, 
sir. Nothing we ever carried out with the doctor was 
anything else,” 


38 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


‘‘Danger you do not dream of,” Ralph said impres- 
sively. “But I cannot discuss this with you, James. You 
are coming with me to London. Get the disguise out 
and let me see if your hand still retains its cunning.” 

Apparently it had, for an hour later there walked from 
the cottage toward the station an elderly, stout man, 
with white hair and beard and whiskers. His eyes were 
guarded by tinted glasses; the complexion of the face 
was singularly clear and ruddy. All trace of those cruel 
criss-cross lines had gone. Wherever Elphick had learned 
his art, he had not failed to learn it thoroughly. 

“It’s perfect; though I say it as shouldn’t,” he re- 
marked. “It’s no use, sir ; you can’t get on without me. 
If I’d gone with you to Lassa, all that horrible torture 
business would never have happened.” 

Ralph Ravenspur smiled cautiously. The stiff dressing 
on his face made a smile difficult in any case. 

“At all events, I shall want you now,” he said. 

It was nearly seven when the express tram reached 
Euston. Ralph stood on the great bustling, echoing, plat- 
form as if waiting for something. An exclamation from 
Elphick attracted his attention. 

“There’s the doctor as large as life !” he said. 

“Tchigorsky !” Ralph cried. “Surely not in his natural 
guise. Oh, this is reckless folly! Does he court defeat 
at the outset of our enterprise?” 

Tchigorsky bustled up. For some reason or other he 
chose to appear in his natural guise. Not till they were 
in the cab did Ravenspur venture to expostulate. 

“Much learning has made you mad,” he said bitterly. 

“Not a bit of it,” the Russian responded. “Unfor- 
tunately for me the priests of Lassa have discovered that 
I am deeply versed in their secrets. Not that they be- 
lieve for a moment that Tchigorsky and the Russian who 
walked the valley of the Red Death are one and the same. 
They deem me to be the recipient of that unhappy man’s 
early discoveries. But your identity remains a secret. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 39 


The cleverest eyes in the world could never penetrate 
your disguise/^ 

“It comforts me to hear that/^ Ralph replied. “Every- 
thing depends upon my identity being concealed. Once 
it is discovered, every Ravenspur is doomed. But I can- 
not understand why you escape recognition at the hands 
of the foe.” 

A bitter smile came over Tchigorsky's face. 

“Can you not?” he said. “If you had your eyes you 
would understand. Man, I have been actually in the com- 
pany of those who flung me into the valley of the Red 
Death and they have not known me. After that I stood 
in the presence of my own mother, and she asked who 
I was. 

“The marks on my face? Well, there are plenty of 
explorers who have been victims to the wire helmet and 
have never dreamt of entering Lassa. I am a broken, 
decrepit wreck, I who was once so proud of my inches. 
The horrors of that one day have changed me beyond 
recognition. But you know.” 

Ralph shuddered from head to foot. A cold moisture 
stood on his forehead. 

“Don’t,” he whispered. “Don’t speak of it. When the 
recollection comes over me I have to hold on to my senses 
as a shipwrecked sailor clings to a plank. Never mind 
the past — the future has peril and danger enough. You 
know why I am here?” 

“To save your house from the curse upon it. To bring 
the East and West together, and tell of the vilest con- 
spiracy the world has ever seen. Do you know who the 
guilty creature is, whose hand is actually striking the 
blow ?” 

“I think so ; in fact I am sure of it. But who would 
believe my accusation?” 

“Who, indeed ! But we shall be in a position to prove 
our case, now that the secrets of the prison-house lie 
before us. We have three to fear.” 


40 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“Yes, yes,” said Ralph. “The two Bonzes — who have 
actually been seen near Ravenspur — and the Princess 
Zara. Could she recognize me?” 

Ralph asked the question in almost passionate entreaty. 

“I am certain she could not,” Tchigorsky replied. 
“Come, victory shall be ours yet. Here we are at my 
house at last. By the way, you must have a name. You 
shall be my cousin Nicholas Tchigorsky, a clever savant, 
who, by reason of a deplorable accident, has become both 
blind and dumb. Allons.” 


CHAPTER VIII 


A MASTER OF FENCE 

Lady Mallowbloom’s reception rooms were more than 
usually crowded. And every other man or woman in 
the glittering salon was a celebrity. There was a strong 
sprinkling of the aristocracy to leaven the lump; here 
and there the flash of red cloth and gold could be seen. 

In his quiet, masterly style Tchigorsky pushed his way 
up the stairs. Ralph Ravenspur followed, his hand upon 
the Russian's arm. He could feel the swish of satin 
draperies go by him ; he caught the perfume on the warm 
air. 

^‘Why do you drag me here?" he grumbled. ‘T can 
see nothing; it only bewilders me. I should have been 
far happier in your study." 

“You mope too much," Tchigorsky said gaily. “To 
mingle with one's fellows is good at times. I know so 
many people who are here to-night." 

“And I know nobody ; add to which circumstances com- 
pel me to be dumb. Place me in some secluded spot with 
my back to the wall, and then enjoy yourself for an hour. 
I dare say I shall manage to kill the time." 

There were many celebrities in the brilliantly-lighted 
room, and Tchigorsky indicated a few. A popular lady 
novelist passed on the arm of a poet on her way to the 
buffet. 

“A wonderful woman," the fair authoress was saying. 
“Eastern and full of mystery, you know. Did you notice 
the eyes of the Princess ?" 

“Who could fail to?" was the reply. “They say that she 
is quite five and forty, and yet she would easily pass for 

41 


42 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


eighteen, but for her knowledge of the world. Your 
Eastern Princess is one of the most fascinating women 
I have even seen.” 

Others passed, and had the same theme. Ralph stirred 
to a faint curiosity. 

“Who is the new marvel ?” he asked. 

“I don’t know,” Tchigorsky admitted. “The last new 
lion, I suppose. Some pretty Begum or the wife of some 
Oriental whose dark eyes appear to have fired society. 
By the crowd of people coming this way I presume the 
dusky beauty is among them. If so, she has an excellent 
knowledge of English.” 

A clear, sweet voice arose. At the first sound of it, 
Ralph jumped to his feet and clutched at his throat as if 
something choked him. He shook with a great agitation ; 
a nameless fear had him in a close grip. 

“Do you recognize the voice ?” Ralph gasped. 

The Russian was not unmoved. But his agitation was 
quickly suppressed. He forced Ralph down in his seat 
again. 

“You will have to behave better than that if you are 
to be a trusty ally of mine,” he said. “Come, that is 
better ! Sit still ; she is coming this- way.” 

“Fm all right now,” Ralph replied. “The shock of 
finding myself in the presence of Princess Zara was over- 
powering. Have no fear for me.” 

A tall woman, magnificently dressed, was making her 
way towards Tchigorsky. Her face was the hue of old 
ivory, and as fine ; her great lustrous eyes gleamed 
brightly; a mass of hair was piled high on a daintily 
poised head. The woman might have been extremely 
young so far as the touch of time was concerned, but the 
easy self-possession told another tale. 

The red lips tightened for an instant, a strange gleam 
came into the dark magnetic eyes as they fell upon 
Tchigorsky. Then the Indian Princess advanced with 
a smile, and held out her hand to the Russian. 

“So you are still here !” she said. 



“lam more interested in occult matters than ever,” Tche- 
gorsky said gravely, “especially in certain discoveries placed 
in my hands by a traveler in Thibet.” —Page 43. 




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THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 43 

There was the suggestion of a challenge in her tones. 
Her eyes met those of Tchigorsky as the eyes of two 
swordsmen might meet. There was a tigerish playful- 
ness underlying the words, a call-note of significant 
warning. 

‘T still take the liberty of existing,” said Tchigorsky. 

“You are a brave man, doctor. Your friend here?” 

“Is my cousin Nicholas Tchigorsky? The poor fellow 
is blind and dumb, as the result of a terrible accident. 
Best not to notice him.” 

The Princess shrugged her beautiful shoulders as she 
dropped gracefully into a seat. 

“I heard you were in London,” she said, “and some- 
thing told me that we should meet sooner or later. You 
are still interested in occult matters?” 

Again Ralph detected the note of warning in the 
speech. He could see nothing of the expression on that 
perfect face; but he could judge it fairly well. 

“I am more interested in occult matters than ever,” 
Tchigorsky said gravely, “especially in certain discoveries 
placed in my hands by a traveler in Tibet.” 

“Ah, that was your fellow-countryman. He died, you 
know !” 

“He was murdered in the vilest manner. But before 
the end, he managed to convey important information 
to me.” 

“Useless information unless you had the key.” 

“There was one traveler who found the key, you 
remember ?” 

“True, doctor. He also, I fancy, met with an accident 
that, unfortunately, resulted in his death.” 

Ralph shuddered slightly. Princess Zara’s tones were 
hard as steel. If she had spoken openly and callously of 
this man being murdered, she could not have expressed 
the same thing more plainly. A beautiful woman, a fas- 
cinating one ; but a woman with no heart and no feeling 
where her hatreds were concerned. 

“It is just possible I have the key,” said Tchigorsky. 


44 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


The eyes of the Princess blazed for a moment. Then 
she smiled. 

“Dare you use it?” she asked. “If you dare, then all 
the secrets of heaven and hell are yours. For four thou- 
sand years the priests of the temple at Lassa and the 
heads of my family have solved the future. You know 
what we can do. We are all powerful for evil. We can 
strike down our foes by means unknown to your boasted 
Western science. They are all the same to us, proud 
potentate, ex-meddling doctor.” 

There was a menace in the last words. Tchigorsky 
smiled : 

“The meddling doctor has already had personal ex- 
perience,” he said. “I carry the marks of my suffering 
to the grave. I remember how your peasants treated 
me and this does not tend to relax my efforts.” 

“And yet you might die at any moment. If you per- 
sist in your studies you will have to die. The eyes of 
Western men must not look upon the secrets of the priests 
of Lassa and live. Be warned. Dr. Tchigorsky, be 
warned in time. You are brave and clever, and as such 
command respect. If you know everything and proclaim 
it to the world ” 

“Civilization will come as one man, and no stone in 
Lassa shall stand on another. Your priests will be 
butchered like wild beasts; an infernal plague spot will 
be wiped off the face of the outraged earth !” 

The Princess caught her breath swiftly. Just for one 
moment there was murder in her eyes. She held her 
fan as if it were a dagger ready for the Russian’s heart. 

“Why should you do this thing?” she asked. 

“Because your knowledge is diabolical,” Tchigorsky 
replied. “In the first place, all who are in the secret can 
commit murder with impunity. As the Anglo-Saxon 
pushes on to the four corners of the earth that knowledge 
must become public property. I am going to stop that 
if I can.” 

“And if you die in the meantime? You are bold to 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 45 

rashness. And yet there are many things that you do 
not know.” 

“The longer I live, the more glaring my ignorance 
becomes. I do not know whence you derive your perfect 
mastery of the English tongue. But I do know that I 
am going to see this business through.” 

“Man proposes, but the arm of the priests is long.” 

“Ah, I understand. I may die to-night. I should not 
mind. Still, let us argue the matter out. Say that I have 
already solved the problem. I write a detailed account 
of the whole weird business. I write twenty detailed 
statements; I enclose the key in each. These statements 
I address to a score of the leading savants in Europe. 

“Then I place them in, say, a safe deposit until my 
death. I write to each of those wise men a letter with 
an enclosure not to be opened till I die. That enclosure 
contains a key to my safe, and presently in that safe all 
those savants find a packet addressed to themselves. In 
a week all Europe would ring with my wonderful dis- 
coveries. Think of the outcry, the wrath, the indigna- 
tion!” 

The Princess smiled. She could appreciate a strata- 
gem like this. With dull, stolid and averted face, Ralph 
Ravenspur listened and wondered. He heard the laugh 
that came from the lips of the Princess ; he detected the 
vexation underlying it. Tchigorsky was a foeman worthy 
of her steel. 

“That you propose to do?” she asked. 

“A question you will pardon me for not answering,” 
said Tchigorsky. “You have made your move and I 
have made mine. Whether I am going to do the thing, 
or whether I have done so, remains to be seen. Whether 
you dare risk my death now is a matter for you to decide. 
Check to your king.” 

Again the Princess smiled. She looked searchingly 
into Tchigorsky’s face, as if she would fain read his very 
soul. But she saw nothing there but the dull eyes of a 
man who keeps his feelings behind a mask. Then, with 


46 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


a flirt of her fan and a more or less mocking curtsey, 
she turned to go. 

“You are a fine antagonist/' she said; “but I do not 
admit yet that you are a check to my king. I shall find 
a way. Good-night !" 

She turned and plunged into the glittering crowd, and 
was seen no more. A strange fit of trembling came over 
Ravenspur as Tchigorsky led him out. 

“That woman stifles me," he said. “If she had only 
guessed who had been seated so near to her! Tchigorsky, 
you played your cards well." 

Tchigorsky smiled. 

“I was glad of that opportunity," he said. “She meant 
to have me murdered; but she will hesitate for a time. 
We have one great advantage — we know what we have 
to face and she does not. The men are on the board, 
the cards are on the table. It is you and I against 
Princess Zara and the two priests of the temple of Lassa*. 
And we play for the lives of a good and innocent family." 

“We do," Ralph said grimly. “But why — why does 
this fascinating Asiatic come all those miles to destroy 
one by one a race that she can scarcely have heard of? 
Why does she do it, Tchigorsky?" 

“You have not guessed who the Princess is, then?" 

Tchigorsky bent down and whispered three words in 
Ralph's ear. And not until Brant Street was reached 
had Ralph come back from his amazement to the land of 
speech. 


CHAPTER IX 


APRIL DAYS 

The terror never lifted now from the old house. There 
were days and weeks when nothing happened, but the 
garrison did not permit itself to believe that the unseen 
enemy had abandoned the unequal contest. 

The old people were prepared for the end which they 
believed to be inevitable. A settled melancholy was upon 
them, and it was only when they were together that any- 
thing like a sense of security prevailed. For the moment 
they were safe — there was always safety in numbers. 

But when they parted for the night they parted as 
comrades on the eve of a bloody battle. They might 
meet again, but the chances were strong against it. For 
themselves they cared nothing; for the younger people, 
everything. 

It was fortunate that the fine constitutions and strong 
nerves of Geoffrey and Vera and Marion kept them going. 
A really imaginative man or woman would have been 
driven mad by the awful suspense. But Geoffrey was 
bright and sunny; he always felt that the truth would 
come to light some day. And his buoyant, sanguine 
nature reacted on the others. 

Nearly a month had elapsed since the weird attempt 
on the life of Rupert Ravenspur; four weeks since Geof- 
frey’s strange experience on the cliffs; and nothing had 
happened. The family had lapsed once more into their 
ordinary mode of living; blind Ralph was back again, 
feeling his way about the castle as usual, silent, moody, 
in the habit of gliding in upon people as a snake comes 
through the grass. 


47 


48 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


Ralph came into breakfast, creeping to his chair with- 
out touching anything, dropping into it as if he had fallen 
from the clouds. Marion, next to him, shuddered. They 
were quite good friends, these two, but Marion was 
slightly afraid of her uncle. His secret ways repelled 
her ; he had a way of talking with his sightless eyes up- 
turned; he seemed to understand the unspoken thoughts 
of others. 

‘‘What is the matter?” he asked. 

Marion laughed. None of the others had come down 
yet. 

“What should be the matter?” she replied. 

“Well, you shuddered. You should be sorry for me, 
my dear. Some of these days I mean to tell you the 
story of my life. Oh, yes, it will be a story — what a 
story! And you will never forget it as long as you live.” 

There was something uncanny in the words — a veiled 
threat, the suggestion of one who had waited for a full 
revenge, with the knowledge that the time would come. 
Yet the scarred face was without expression; the eyes 
were vacant. 

“Won’t you tell me now?” Marion asked softly. “I 
am so sorry for you?” 

The sweet, thrilling sympathy would have moved a 
stone, but it had no effect upon Ralph. He merely 
caressed Marion’s slim fingers and smiled. It was signifi- 
cant of his extraordinary power that he found Marion’s 
hand without feeling for it. He was given to touch those 
slim fingers. And yet he never allowed Marion to kiss 
him. 

“All in good time,” he said; “but not yet, not yet.” 

Before Marion could reply, Mrs. Gordon Ravenspur 
came into the room. Marion seemed to divine more than 
see that something had happened. She jumped to her 
feet and crossed the room. 

“Dear aunt,” she said quickly. “What is it?” 

“Vera,” Mrs. Gordon replied. “She called me into 
her room just now saying she was feeling far from well. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 49 

I had hardly got into her room before she fainted. I 
have never known Vera do such a thing before.” 

Ralph was sitting and drumming his fingers on the 
table as if the subject had not the slightest interest for 
him. But, with the swiftness of lightning, a strange, 
hard, cunning expression flashed across his face and was 
gone. When Marion turned to him he had vanished also. 
It almost seemed as if he had the gift of fernseed. 

“A mere passing weakness,” Marion said soothingly. 

“I should like to think so,” Mrs. Gordon replied. “In 
normal circumstances I should think so. But not now; 
not now, Marion.” 

Marion sighed deeply. There were times when even 
she was oppressed. 

“Fll go and see Vera,” she said. “I am sure there is 
no cause for alarm;” 

Marion slipped rapidly away up the stone stairs and 
along the echoing corridor toward Vera’s room. She 
was smiling now, and she kissed her hand to the dead 
and gone Ravenspurs frowning upon her from the walls. 
Then she burst gaily into Vera’s room. 

“My dear child,” she cried, “you really must not alarm 
us by ” 

She paused suddenly. Vera, fully dressed, was seated 
in a chair, whilst Ralph was by her side. He seemed 
more alive than usual ; he had been saying something to 
Vera that had brought the color to her face. As Marion 
entered he grew grave and self-contained; like a snail 
retreating into its shell, Marion thought. He sat down 
and tattooed with his fingers on the dressing-table. 

“I had no idea you had company,” Marion smiled. 

“I intruded,” Ralph said gravely. There was a sar- 
donic inflection in his voice. “Yet I flatter myself that 
Vera is the better for my attention.” 

Marion looked swiftly from one to the other. She 
was puzzled. Almost flawless as she was, she had her 
minor weaknesses, or she had been less charming than 
she was, and she hated to be puzzled. Vera was no 


50 THE MYSTERY OF THE RA\4ENSPURS 

longer pale and all signs of languor had departed, yet 
she looked confused and there was the trace of a blush 
on her cheeks. 

‘‘Sometimes I fancy that Uncle Ralph is laughing at 
us all,” she said, with a laugh that was not altogether 
natural. “But I am all right now, dear Marion. Save 
for a racking headache, I am myself again.” 

Marion, solicitous for others always, flew for her 
smelling salts. In three strides Ralph was across the 
floor, and had closed the door behind her. His manner 
had instantly changed ; he was full of energy and action. 

“Take this,” he whispered. “Take it and the cure will 
be complete. Crush it up between your teeth and drink 
a glass of water afterwards.” 

He forced a small white pellet between Vera’s teeth; 
he heard her teetch crushing it. With his peculiar gift 
for finding things, he crossed over to the washstand and 
returned with a glass of water. 

“You are better?” he asked, as Vera gulped the water 
down. 

“Oh, yes, uncle ; are you a wizard or what ? My head- 
ache seems to have lifted from me as one takes off a hat. 
The stuff you gave me — — ” 

“Say no more about it; think no more about it. But 
whenever the same feeling comes over you again let me 
know at once. And you are not to mention this to 
anybody.” 

“But my mother and Geoffrey and ” 

“Ah, you love Geoffrey? But there is no need to ask 
you the question. You want to rid the house of its name- 
less terror; you want to be free, to marry Geoffrey and 
be happy. Dear child, all these things will come if you 
listen to me. I swear it. And now will you promise me 
that you will say nothing of this to a soul ?” 

“Dear uncle, I promise.” 

Ralph had grown cold and moody again. When 
Marion returned with her salts he slipped out of the 
room as callously as if he were not in the least interested. 


THE M^TERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 51 

And while many anxious eyes followed Vera at break- 
fast time, Ralph alone was indifferent, brutally indif- 
ferent, Marion thought. 

‘‘Are you thinking of the same thing that we are?’’ 
she asked. 

“No,” Ralph said shortly. “I was thinking what poor 
bacon this is.” 


CHAPTER X 


A LITTLE SUNSHINE 

After luncheon, Geoffrey was leaning over the stone 
balustrade of the terrace waiting for Vera. Beyond a 
slight restlessness and extra brilliancy of the eye she was 
better. She had proposed a ramble along the cliffs and 
Geoffrey had assented eagerly. 

His anxiety was fading away like the ashes of his 
cigarette. At first he had been inclined to imagine that 
Vera’s indisposition had been a move on the part of 
the unseen foe. But he put this idea from him as 
illogical. The enemy was not in the habit of using the 
gloved hand like this. He struck down fiercely and 
remorselessly. 

‘‘No,” Geoffrey murmured aloud; “Vera could not 
have been spared!” 

A gentle hand was laid upon his arm. Marion stood 
beside him. They were alone at that angle of the terrace 
and unseen from the house. 

“You are right,” said Marion. “Don’t worry about 
that any more.” 

Geoffrey nodded approvingly. He slipped his arm 
round Marion’s waist and kissed her in a brotherly fash- 
ion. Marion inclined toward him with half-closed eyes 
and a brightened color. Her limbs trembled; the pres- 
sure of her lips was warm and sweet. 

“Dear little sister,” Geoffrey murmured. “What 
should we do without you ?” 

Marion drew herself away abruptly. She rested her 
clasped hands over the stone balcony so that Geoffrey 

. 52 


ETHE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 53 

sHould not see their unsteadiness; her flushed face was 
half averted. It was a taking, a perfect picture. 

‘‘What would Vera say?” she asked. 

“As if Vera would mind! Don’t we all love you the 
same ? And how many times has Vera seen me kiss you ? 
If there were no Vera, little sister, then you may be sure 
that I should have kissed you in a different way!” 

Marion laughed at the easy impertinence. That Geof- 
frey had no real love or passion for anybody but Vera 
she knew perfectly w^ell. She laughed again, but there 
was nothing spontaneous in it; indeed, anybody but a 
youthful egotist in love could have detected a certain 
jarring note of pain. 

“Here is Vera,” said Geoffrey. “Let us ask her.” 

They put it to her merrily. They might have been in 
a world beyond all sorrow or suffering. The music of 
their fresh young voices floated in the air. Then Marion 
bent over the balustrade and watched the lovers out of 
sight. Her face grew hard ; a veil of heavy years seemed 
to have fallen over it. 

“If he only knew !” she said ; “if he only knew ! Why 
are clever people often so foolish? And why do they 
commit follies with their eyes wide open? Well, it 
doesn’t matter, for you will never know, dear Geoffrey, 
how passionately and devotedly I love you. And you 
never, never know when temptation and inclination and 
opportunity go together. And I don’t believe that any- 
body could resist temptation if he or she were certain not 
to be found out!” 

“I am perfectly sure they wouldn’t.” 

Marion turned with a stifled cry on her lips. Ralph 
Ravenspur was behind her. The expression on his face 
was wooden and emotionless. 

“I hope you have not been listening to me,” she said 
reproachfully. 

“I have been watching you, or rather feeling your 
presence for some time.” Ralph admitted. “I have been 
here since those young people went away. But you said 


54 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


nothing ; at least nothing I heard until that bit of worldly 
wisdom dropped from your lips.” 

‘Tt was an unworthy thought, Uncle Ralph.” 

‘Tt might be unworthy of you, my dear, but I fancy 
it is true. Even the very best of people give way to 
temptation. Put it away from you; don’t dwell upon 
your temptation, or it may get you into trouble.” 

‘‘My temptation! Do you mean to say you know 
what it is?” 

“I do,” said Ralph. “You are deeply in love with your 
cousin Geoffrey. There is wild blood in your veins, and 
that blood will out unless you keep your feelings well 
under control. Ah, you may stare and look dismayed, 
which I am sure you are doing although I cannot see 
you. Yes, there is always the temptation to pray that 
the family foe might remove Vera from your path.” 

A piteous cry came from Marion’s lips. Who was this 
man who knew so much and could probe her secret soul ? 
Yet he was blind; he could not see. Was it possible that 
some such horrible thoughts had crossed Marion’s mind ? 
Atrocious thoughts will come to the best of us unasked 
for, unsought. 

“Oh, you are cruel !” she said. 

“Perhaps I am,” Ralph admitted. “You see, I live in 
a dark world of my own and I have small belief in the 
virtues of my fellow-creatures. But you are an angel 
and I have amused myself by searing your wings.” 

“Is that because you think my secret is a shameful 
one?” 

“Not in the least. Who can help the wayward drift- 
ings of a woman’s heart? And, anyway, your secret is 
safe with me.” 

He felt for Marion’s fingers and put them to his lips. 
Before the girl could reply he had drifted away, appar- 
ently feeling his way into space. And for a long time 
Marion stood there gazing out to sea. 

Meanwhile the lovers had forgotten everything but 
the beauty of the day, and that the world was for them- 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 55 


selves alone. The sun shone for them, for them the blue 
sea thundered in white battalions against the cliffs; for 
them the lark poured out its song at the gate of heaven, 
and the heather bloomed on moor and headland. 

They strolled along until they came to a favored spot 
where the gorse flowered in yellow fires, and the crushed 
wild thyme was pungent under their feet. Here Geoffrey 
threw himself on the turf and Vera reclined by his side. 

He could touch her hands and toy with the little ripples 
of her hair. To watch the play of those pretty features 
and look back the love he saw in those great starry eyes 
was a thing without alloy. 

*‘Ah, me, if we could always be like this!’^ Vera said. 

“You and I would be happy in any circumstances,” 
said Geoffrey thoughtfully. “Only I should like to see 
something of the world.” 

“What, go away and leave me all alone, dearest ?” 

Geoffrey smiled at this innocent coquetry. He touched 
the smooth satin cheek caressingly. Vera only wanted 
him to disclaim any such intention and he knew it, too. 
There was no deception about the matter, but they were 
none the less happy for that. 

“Of course not,” Geoffrey declared. “I should take 
you with me wherever I went. If we could only get 
the bar removed I should like to travel. I should like 
to see men and cities, and measure my strength with my 
fellows. I should like to go into Parliament. Ah, if 
we could only get the bar removed!” 

“If we only could,” Vera sighed. “But I can’t imagine 
that they will touch us. We are so young and so innocent 
of wrong-doing. And yet this morning ” 

Vera paused, half afraid of betraying Ralph Raven- 
spur’s confidence. 

“Only this morning you were a bit afraid. Confess it.” 

“I was, Geoff. I felt strange when I awoke in the 
night. I felt cold and like death when I awoke to-day, 
and then I fainted.” 


56 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“But you are all right now, darling,” Geoff said 
anxiously. 

“Yes, dear, I never felt better. Still, it was a strange 
thing altogether. I was well when I went to bed, but 
in the night I had a curious dream. It seemed to me 
that I was lying half asleep with a singular pricking sen- 
sation of my lips and face. And than an angel came 
down and laid some white powder on my pillow, a white 
powder that looked like a mixture of salt and powdered 
glass. Almost immediately the pain ceased and I slept 
again. Then I awoke finally and had that fainting fit. 
Don’t you think it was a queer thing ?” 

“Yes, but what had the dream and the powder to do 
with it, little girl?” 

“I was coming to that, Geoff. After I got better I 
remembered my dream and looked at the pillow. You 
smile, thinking that only a woman would do that. Sure 
enough there was some trace of gritty powder there, and 
I collected it in a tissue paper. Directly I got it to the 
light half of it melted ; it seemed to dissolve in light like 
water. And here it is.” 

Vera produced a tiny packet from her pocket and 
opened it. There were several grains of some sharp 
powder there which, as Geoffrey held them in his hand, 
dissolved to nothingness. His face was very pale. 

“Darling, this is a dreadful thing,” he murmured. “I 
fancy ” 

He paused, fearful of alarming Vera. He saw the 
hand of fate in this ; he saw the sword that was hanging 
over that beloved young life. 

A passion of anger and despair filled him, but for 
Vera’s sake he checked the feeling. And it seemed to 
him as if he had passed in a minute down a decade of 
years; as if in that brief space he had left his boyhood 
behind and become a man. 

“This must be looked into,” he said sternly. “Every 
precaution ” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 57 

‘^Has been taken/' Vera said quietly. ^‘We have a pro- 
tector among us, dearest. One who is worth all the pre- 
cautions put together. Do not fear for me and do not 
ask me any questions, because I must not answer them. 
But I am safe.” 

Geoffrey nodded. The cloud slowly lifted from his 
forehead. Vera was speaking of her uncle Ralph and 
there was no reason to ask any questions. Was it pos- 
sible, Geoffrey wondered, that Ralph Ravenspur had gone 
to the heart of the mystery, that it was wrapped up in 
his life, and that he had come home to solve it ? 

But of this he said nothing. He resolved to render 
every assistance. This vile thing was the work of earthly 
hands and earthly ingenuity could solve it. Never was 
there cipher invented that was incapable of solution. 

Geoffrey drew Vera to his side and kissed her pas- 
sionately. For a little time she lay in his arms in abso- 
lute content. Her smiling eyes were clear, her features 
placid. In any case she feared no unseen danger. There 
must be some great sheltering power behind her, or she 
had never looked so sweet and placid as that. 

*T could not do without you, darling,” Geoffrey said. 

‘'And you are not going to do without me,” Vera 
smiled. “There is much yet to be done, but it is going 
to be accomplished, dearest. Something tells me that the 
hour of our freedom is at hand. And something also 
tells me, Geoff, that you are going to have a great deal 
to do with it.” 

They came back at length up the slope leading to the 
castle. And there Ralph came upon them in his own 
noiseless, mysterious fashion. He clung to them until 
Vera had entered the house and then led Geoffrey to 
the terrace. 

“There is nobody within earshot of us ?” he demanded. 

Geoffrey assured him that there was not. He was 
impressed with the earnestness of his uncle’s manner. He 
had never seen him so moved before. 


58 THE MYSTERY OE THE RAVENSPURS 


“Is there anything I can do for you ?” he asked. 

“Much/' was the whispered reply. “If you are bold 
and resolute." 

“I am, I am. I would lay down my life as the martyrs 
of old did to solve the mystery." 

“Ah," Ralph said, in a dry, croaking whisper. “I felt 
sure I could trust you. There is a great danger and it 
is near. In that danger I want a pair of eyes. Lend 
me yours." 

“Dear uncle, I will do anything you please." 

“Good. I like the ring in your voice. At half-past 
eleven to-night I will come to your room. There I will 
confide in you. Till then, absolute silence." 


CHAPTER XI 


ANOTHER STROKE IN THE DARKNESS 

Contrary to the usual custom, there was almost a 
marked cheerfulness at Ravenspur the same evening. The 
dread seemed to have lifted slightly, though nobody could 
say why, even if they cared to analyze, which they cer- 
tainly did not. And all this because it had seemed to the 
doomed race that Vera was marked down for destruction, 
and that the tragedy, the pitiful tragedy, had been 
averted. 

It is hardly possible to imagine a state of mind like 
this. And Vera half divined the reason for this gentle 
gaiety. She might have told them differently had she 
chosen to do so, but for many reasons she refrained. 

She did not even tell her mother. Why draw the veil 
aside when even a few hours’ peace stood between them 
and the terror which sooner or later must sap the reason 
of every one there? Besides, Uncle Ralph had pledged 
her to the utmost secrecy. 

For once Rupert Ravenspur had abandoned his stony 
air. He sat at the head of the long table in the dining- 
room, where the lamplight streamed upon fruit and flow- 
ers and crystal, upon priceless china, and silver from the 
finest workshops in the world. 

Grinling Gibbons and Inigo Jones had toiled in that 
dining-hall as a labor of love; a famous master had 
painted the loves of the angels on the roof. Between 
the oak panels were paintings by Van Dyck, Cuyp and 
the rest of them. And over the floor servants in livery 
moved swiftly. Rupert Ravenspur might have been a 
monarch entertaining some of his favored subjects. 

59 


6o THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


It was almost impossible to believe that a great sorrow 
could be brooding here. There was everything that the 
heart of the most luxurious could demand. Strangers 
might have looked on and envied. But the stately old 
man who called all this his own would gladly have 
changed lots with the humblest hind on the estate. 

Now and then Rupert came out of his reverie and 
smiled. But his tenderest smile and his warmest word 
were for Vera, who he had placed on his right hand. 
Now and again he stroked her hair or touched her fingers 
gently. Marion watched the scene with a tender smile 
on her lips. 

Only Ralph Ravenspur was silent. He sat with his 
sightless eyes fixed on space; he seemed to be listening 
intently, listening to something far away that could be 
heard by his ears alone. Geoffrey touched him. 

*‘A penny for your thoughts, uncle,’’ he said. 

“They are worth nothing,” Ralph replied. “And if I 
sold them to you for a penny you would give all Raven- 
spur Castle and your coming fortune to be rid of them.” 

He croaked this out in a fierce whisper. There was 
a ring of pain in his voice, that pain which is the suffering 
of the soul rather than the body. Yet he did not relax 
his rigid listening attitude. He might have been waiting 
for the unseen foe. 

The conversation proceeded fitfully, sometimes almost 
lively, anon lapsing into silence. It was hard for these 
people to speak. They had no interests outside the castle ; 
they found it impossible to follow social or political life. 
Daily papers arrived, but it was seldom that they were 
looked into. 

The dinner came to an end at length, and then the 
family circle drew round the fire. Ravenspur was one 
of those big cold places where fires are always needed. 
Mrs. Gordon rose and walked to the door. Her hus- 
band’s eyes followed her. These two were gray and old 
before their time, but the flame of love still burned bright 
and clear. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 6i 


“You will not be long, dear,” Gordon Ravenspur said. 
A somewhat sentimental remark in the ordinary way, but 
not in this place where the parting of a minute might 
mean parting for all time. Mrs. Gordon smiled back 
upon her husband. 

“I am going to bed,” she said. “Never mind me. I 
feel sleepy.” 

Gordon Ravenspur nodded sympathetically. He knew 
what his wife meant as if she had put her thoughts into 
words. She had been terribly upset over Vera and now 
that the danger was past a heavy reaction set in. 

“Why should we sit here like this?” Geoffrey ex- 
claimed. Vera and Marion, Fll play you two a game at 
billiards. Come along.” 

Marion smilingly declined. She touched the back of 
Ravenspur’s wasted hand. 

“I am going to stay here just for a few minutes and 
take care of grandfather,” she said; “then I will go 
to bed. Give Vera twenty in a hundred, and I will bet 
you a pair of gloves that she beats you easily.” 

The young people went off together and in the excite- 
ment of the game other things were forgotten. Vera 
played well and Geoffrey had all his work cut out to 
beat her. Finally Vera ran out with a succession of 
brilliant flukes. 

“Well, of all the luck!” Geoffrey cried. “Let's play 
another game, but after that exhibition of yours I must 
have a cigarette. Wait a moment.” 

The cigarettes were not in their accustomed place. 
Geoffrey ran up the stairs to his bedroom. He passed 
along the dusky corridor on his return. In the gallery 
all was dark and still, save for something that sounded 
like two figures in muffling velvet robes dancing together. 
It seemed to Geoffrey that he could actually hear them 
breathing after their exertions. 

With a quickening of his heart he stopped to listen. 
Surely somebody buried under many thick folds of cloth 
was calling for assistance. 


62 THE MYSTERY OF Tiffin RAVENSPURS 


“Who is there Geoffrey called. “Where are you 

“Just under the Lely portrait,” came a stifled response. 
“If you don’t ” 

The voice ceased. In that instant Geoffrey had recog- 
nized it as Aunt Gordon’s voice. 

Heedless of danger to himself he raced down the cor- 
ridor, his thin evening pumps making little or no noise 
on the polished floor. Nor had Geoffrey lived here all 
these years for nothing. He could have found the spot 
indicated blindfolded. 

He could see nothing, but he could hear the struggle 
going on; then he caught the flash of something that 
looked like a blue diamond. It must have been attached 
to a hand, but no hand was to be seen. Geoffrey caught 
at nothingness and grasped something warm and pal- 
pitating. He had the mysterious assailant in his grip; 
perhaps he held the whole mystery here. He heard foot- 
steps pattering along the corridor as Mrs. Gordon ran 
for assistance. He called out to her and she answered 
him. 

She was safe. There was no- doubt about that. No 
longer was there any need for caution on Geoffrey’s part. 
His fingers closed on a thin scraggy throat from which 
the flesh seemed to hang like strips of dried leather. At 
the same time the throat was cold and clammy and 
slippery as if with some horrible slime. It was almost 
impossible to keep a grip on it. Moreover, the mysterious 
visitor, if slight, was possessed of marvelous agility and 
vitality. 

But Geoffrey fought on with the tenacity of one who 
plays for a great end. He closed in again and bore the 
foe backwards. He had him at last. If he could only 
hold on till assistance came, the dread secret might be 
unfolded. 

Then the figure took something from his pocket; the 
air was filled with a pungent, sickly sweet odor, and 
Geoffrey felt his strength going from him. He was 


/ THE MYSTERY ODF THE RAVENSPURS 63 

powerless to move a limb. One of those greasy hands 
gripped his throat. 

In a vague, intangible way Geoffrey knew that that 
overpowering blinding odor was the same stuff that had 
come so near to ending the head of the family. If he 
breathed it much longer, his own end was come. 

He made one other futile struggle and heard approach- 
ing footsteps; he caught the gleaming circle of a knife 
blade swiftly uplifted, and his antagonist gave a whimper 
of pain as a frightened animal might do. The grip re- 
laxed and Geoffrey staggered to the floor. 

^‘That was a narrow escape,'' a hoarse voice said. 

‘‘Uncle Ralph!" Geoffrey panted. “How did you get 
here? And where has the fellow gone?" 

“I was close at hand," Ralph said coolly. “A minute 
or two sooner and I might have saved Gordon's wife, 
instead of your doing it. See, is there blood on this 
knife ?" 

He handed a box of matches to Geoffrey. The long, 
carved Malay blade was dripping with crimson. But 
there were no signs of it on the floor. 

“Let us follow him," Geoffrey cried eagerly. “He 
can't be far away I" 

But Ralph did not move. His face was expressionless 
once more. He did not appear to be in the least inter- 
ested or excited. 

“It is useless," he said, in his dull mechanical tones. 
“For in this matter you are as blind as I am. There are 
things beyond your comprehension. I am going down 
to see what is happening below." 

He began to feel his way to the staircase, Geoffrey 
following. 

“Are we never going to do anything?" the younger 
man exclaimed passionately. 

“Yes, yes. Patience, lad! The day of reckoning is 
coming as sure as I stand before you. But to follow your 
late antagonist is futile. You might as well try to beat 
the wind that carries away your hat on a stormy day.'* 


64 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


Mrs. Gordon sat in the dining-hall, pale, ashen, and 
trembling from head to foot. It seemed as if an ague 
had fallen upon her. Every now and then a short hys- 
terical laugh escaped her lips, more horrible and more 
impressive than any outbreak of fear or passion. 

And yet there was nothing to be done, nothing to be 
said; they could only look at her with moist eyes and 
a yearning sympathy that was beyond all words. 

“It will pass,” Mrs. Gordon said faintly. “We all 
have our trials; and mine are no worse than the rest. 
Gordon, take me to bed.” 

She passed up the stairs leaning on the arm of her 
husband. Time was when these things demanded vivid 
explanations. They were too significant now. Ralph 
crept fumblingly over the floor till he stood by Marion’s 
side. He touched her hand; he seemed to know where to 
find it. The hand was wet. Ralph touched her cheek. 

“You are crying,” he said, gently for him. 

“Yes,” Marion admitted, softly. “Oh, if I could only 
do anything to help. If you only knew how my heart 
goes out to these poor people!” 

“And yet it may be your turn next, Marion. But I 
hope not — I hope not. We could not lose the only sun- 
shine in the house!” 

Marion choked down a sob. When she turned to 
Ralph again he was far off feeling his way along the 
room — feeling, feeling always for the clue to the secret. 


CHAPTER XII 


GEOFFREY IS PUT TO THE TEST 

The house was quiet at last. When these mysterious 
things had first happened, fear and alarm had driven 
sleep from every eye, and many was the long night the 
whole family had spent, huddled round the fire till gray 
morn chased their fears away. 

But as the inhabitants of a beleaguered city learn to 
sleep through a heavy bombardment, so had the Raven- 
spurs come to meet these horrors with grim tenacity. 
They were all upstairs now, behind locked doors, with a 
hope that they might meet again on the morrow. Only 
Geoffrey was up waiting for his uncle Ralph. 

He came at length so noiselessly that Geoffrey was 
startled, and motioned to him that he should follow him 
without a word. 

They crept like ghosts along the corridor until they 
reached a room with double doors at the end of the 
picture gallery. Generations ago this room had been 
built for a Ravenspur who had developed dangerous 
homicidal mania, and in this room he had lived virtually 
a prisoner for many years. 

After they had closed the two doors, a heavy curtain 
was drawn over the inner one, and Ralph fumbled his 
way to the table and lighted a candle. 

“Now we can talk,” he said quietly, “but not loud. 
Understand that the matter is to be a profound secret 
between us and that not a soul is to know of it ; not even 
Vera.” 

“I have already given my promise,” said Geoffrey. 

“I know. Still there is no harm in again impressing 

65 


66 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


the fact on your mind. Geoffrey, you are about to see 
strange things, things that will test your pluck and 
courage to the uttermost.” 

Geoffrey nodded. With the eagerness of youth he was 
ready. 

“I will do anything you ask me,” he replied. ‘T could 
face any danger to get at the bottom of this business.” 

“You are a good lad. Turn the lamp down very low 
and then open the window. Have you done that?” 

“Yes, I can feel the cold air on my face.” 

Ralph crossed to the window and, putting out his hand, 
gave the quaint mournful call of the owl. There was a 
minute’s pause and then came the answering signal. A 
minute or two later and a man’s head and shoulders were 
framed in the open window. Geoffrey would have 
dashed forward, but Ralph held him back. 

“Not so impatient,” he said. “This is a friend.” 

Geoffrey asked no questions, though he was puzzled 
to know why the visitor did not enter the castle by the 
usual way. At Ralph’s request he closed the window and 
drew the heavy curtains and the lamp was turned up 
again. 

“My nephew,” said Ralph. “A fine young fellow, and 
one that you and I can trust. Geoffrey, this is my old 
friend, Sergius Tchigorsky.” 

Geoffrey shook hands with Tchigorsky. * To his intense 
surprise he saw the face of the stranger was disfigured 
in the same way as that of his uncle. Conscious that his 
gaze was somewhat rude he looked down. Tchigorsky 
smiled. Very little escaped him and to him the young 
man’s mind was as clear as a brook. 

“My appearance startles you,” he said. “Some day 
you will learn how your uncle and myself came to be 
both disfigured in this terrible way. That secret will be 
disclosed when the horror that haunts this house is 
lifted.” 

“Will it ever be lifted, sir?” Geoffrey asked. 

“We can do so at any time/’ Tchigorsky replied in 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 67 

his deep voice. “You may be surprised to hear that we 
can place our hand on the guilty party at a moment’s 
notice and bring the offender to justice. Your eyes ask 
me why we do not do so instantly. We refrain, as the 
detectives refrain from arresting one or two of a big 
gang of swindlers, preferring to spread their nets till 
they have them all in their meshes. There are four 
people in this business, and we must take the lot of them, 
or there will be no peace for the house of Ravenspur. 
You follow me ?” 

“Perfectly,” Geoffrey replied. “An enemy so mar- 
velously clever must not be treated lightly. Do you pro- 
pose to make the capture to-night?” 

Ralph Ravenspur laughed. It was not a pleasant laugh 
and was mirthless. His scarred face was full of scornful 
amusement. 

“Not to-night or to-morrow night, or for many 
nights,” he said. “We have all the serpent wisdom of 
the Old World against us, the occult knowledge of the 
East allied to the slippery cunning that Western educa- 
tion gives. There will be many dangers before we have 
finished, and the worst of these dangers will fall upon 
you.” 

Ralph brought his hand down with a sudden clap on 
his nephew’s shoulders. Tchigorsky regarded him long 
and earnestly as if he would read his very soul. 

“You will do,” he said curtly. “I am satisfied you 
will do and I never made a mistake in my estimate of a 
man yet. Ravenspur, are you ready?” 

“Ay, ay. I have been ready this long time.” 

The lamp was extinguished and list slippers were 
donned, and with no more provision than a box of wax 
matches they left the room. Instructed by Ralph Raven- 
spur, they fell behind him, each holding by the coat-tail 
of the other. • Down the corridor they went, down the 
stairs, along stone-flagged passages until they reached 
the vast series of cellars and vaults over which the castle 
was built. 


68 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


There were many of these with twists and turns and 
low passages; the place was large enough to conceal a 
big force of troops. And yet, though it was pitchy dark 
and intricate as a labyrinth, the blind man made no 
error; he did not hesitate for a moment. 

Well as Geoffrey imagined that he knew the castle, 
he was fain to confess his utter ignorance alongside the 
knowledge displayed by the blind guide. 

Ralph pulled up suddenly and began to speak. 

“I brought you here to-night, Geoffrey,” he said, ‘‘so 
that you might have the first lesson in the task that lies 
before you. Listen! can you hear anything?” 

“I hear the roar of the sea, the waves grating on the 
shingle.” 

“Yes, because we are on a level with the sea. There 
are deeper vaults yet, which you will see presently, and 
they are below the level of the sea. Our ancestors used 
to place their prisoners there, and, by removing a kind 
of sluice, allowed the tide to come in and drown them. 
You see, those walls are damp.” 

They were, indeed. As a wax vesta flared up, the 
dripping stones and the long white fungi gave the place 
a weird appearance. Then Ralph dropped suddenly, ex- 
tinguished his match, and drew his companions behind 
a row of cupboard-like timbers. 

“Somebody is coming,” he whispered. 

The others could hear nothing. But the blind man’s 
powers of hearing were abnormal. It seemed a long 
time before the sound of footsteps could be heard. Then 
a figure in white,, a fair figure with long shining hair 
hanging down her back and carrying a taper, crept down 
the steps. 

An exclamation trembled on Geoffrey’s lips — an ex- 
clamation of alarm, of admiration, of the utmost aston- 
ishment. But Ralph laid a hand on his mouth. The 
figure passed into the vault beyond. 

“It was Marion !” said Geoffrey in a thrilling whisper. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 69 

“And yet it did not look like Marion. She seemed so 
dreamy; so far off.’’ 

“She was walking in her sleep/’ Ralph said quietly. 

“But the danger of it, the danger!” 

“My dear boy, there is no danger at all. Blind as I 
am, I found out this peculiarity of Marion’s directly I 
returned. Danger to her! I would not have a hair of 
her head injured to save Ravenspur from destruction. 
Geoffrey, it is through Marion and Marion alone, that 
we are going to solve the mystery.” 

“Ay,” Tchigorsky muttered, “that is so.” 

Ralph raised his hand to impose silence. The soft 
returning footfalls were clear to the ears. Then, rigid, 
unbending, with dilated eyes, Marion passed, the flash 
of the lantern behind her. 

“Come,” said Ralph, “let us return. A good night’s 
work, Tchigorsky!” 

“Ay,” Tchigorsky murmured; “a good night’s work, 
indeed.” 


CHAPTER XIII 


REELING OFF THE THREAD 

It was fortunate for all parties that GeofYrey was pos- 
sessed of strong nerves, or he would have been certain 
to betray himself and them. 

Since he had left school at the time when the unseen 
terror first began to oppress Ravenspur, he had known 
nothing of the world; he had learnt nothing beyond the 
power to suffer silently and the power of love. 

To confide in him was, perhaps, a daring thing on the 
part of Ralph Ravenspur. But, then, Ralph knew his 
world only too deeply and too well, and he rarely made 
a mistake in a man. All the same, he followed as closely 
as possible the meeting between Marion and Geoffrey the 
following morning. 

Marion came down a little pale, a little quieter and 
more subdued than usual. Geoffrey rallied her in the 
spirit of mingled amusement and affection that he always 
assumed to Marion. His voice was natural and un- 
affected. Ralph was grimly satisfied. He knew now 
that his ally had brains as well as courage. 

*‘I believe you have been sitting up writing poetry,” 
Geoffrey laughed. 

‘‘Indeed, I had a very long night’s rest,” Marion re- 
sponded. “And I can’t imagine why I look so pale and 
washed-out this morning!” 

“Bad dreams and an evil conscience,” Vera suggested 
'demurely. 

Marion laughed. Usually at meal times the young 
people had the conversation entirely to themselves. Sorne- 

7Q 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 71 

times the elders joined in; sometimes they listened and 
smiled at the empty badinage ; usually they were wrapped 
in their gloomy thoughts. Ralph’s face had the expres- 
sion of a stone idol, yet he followed every word that was 
said with intense and vivid interest. 

“Bad dreams, indeed,” Marion admitted. “They were 
with me all night. It seemed to me that I was wander- 
ing about all night looking for something. And I had 
nothing on but my nightdress. In India as a child I 
used to walk in my sleep. I hope I am not going to do 
that again.” 

Marion laughed and passed on to another subject. 
Curiously enough, she seemed to shrink from speaking 
of her life in India. Of her dead parents she would dis- 
course freely; of her own early life she said nothing. It 
had always seemed to Geoffrey that Marion’s childhood 
had been unhappy. There was an air of gentle melan- 
choly when her features were in repose, an air far older 
than her years. 

Meanwhile Ralph had been following all this keenly. 
He appeared to be interested in his breakfast. The 
streaming sunshine filtered through the great stained 
glass windows full upon his scarred face; his head was 
bent down upon his plate. 

But the man’s mind was at work. He had his oppor- 
tunity to speak to Geoffrey presently. 

“You will do,” he said approvingly. “Keep up that 
easy, cheerful manner of yours. Whatever happens, try 
to ignore it; try to keep up that irresponsible boyish 
manner. You will find it invaluable in disarming sus- 
picion later, when one false move may dash all our 
delicate plans to the ground.” 

“I will do anything you require of me, uncle.” 

“That is right ; that is the spirit in which to approach 
the problem. And, remember, that what may appear to 
you to be the most trivial detail may prove to be of the 
utmost importance to our case. For instance, I am going 
to ask you to do something now that may produce big 


72 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

results. I want you to get your grandfather’s permission 
to use the top room over the tower.” 

“But what can I want it for ? It is useless to me.” 

“At present, yes; but later it will be useful. You re- 
quire it for an observatory. You are going to try to 
repair the big telescope. You are enthusiastic on the 
subject, you are hot-foot to get to work at once. There 
is nothing but lumber there.” 

“Boxes belonging to Marion, uncle. Cases that have 
remained unpacked ever since she came over from India. 

Ralph smiled in his most inscrutable manner. 

“Mere trifles,” he croaked. “But, there, T am one of 
the men who deny there are such things as trifles. You 
may lose a pin out of your watch, a trifle hardly visible 
to the eye a yard off. And yet your costly watch, with 
its marvelous mechanism, is useless without that 'trifle.’ 
Now go.” 

An hour later and Geoffrey was busy in the corridor 
with the big telescope, the telescope that nobody had 
troubled about at Ravenspur for many years. Geoffrey, 
in his shirt sleeves, was polishing up the brasses. Vera 
was with her mother somewhere. 

There had been no trouble in getting permission from 
Rupert Ravenspur. It was doubtful if he even heard 
Geoffrey’s request. Everything the young people asked 
they got, as a rule. Why not, when a day might cut off 
their lives and their little pleasures for all time! The 
head of the family was fast becoming a fatalist. So far 
as he was concerned, there was no hope that the terror 
would ever lift. He had escaped once; the next time 
the foe would not fail. But there would be rest in the 
grave. 

Marion found Geoffrey in the corridor. The yellow 
and purple lights from the leaded windows filled the place 
with a soft, warm glow. Marion’s dark hair was shot 
with purple ; her white dress, as she lounged in a window 
seat, was turned to gold. She formed a wonderfully fain 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 73 

and attractive picture, if Geoffrey had only heeded it. 
But, then, Geoffrey had no eyes for any one but Vera. 

'‘What are you going to do?” Marion asked. “Read 
your fortune in the stars? Get inspiration from the 
heavenly bodies to combat the power of darkness?” 

“Fm going to have a shot at astronomy again,” 
Geoffrey replied, in his most boyish and most enthusiastic 
manner. “I was considered a bit of swell at it at school. 
And when I saw this jolly old telescope lying neglected 
here, I made up my mind to polish my knowledge. Fm 
going to set it up in the tower turret.” 

“But it is packed full of boxes — my boxes.” 

“Well, there is plenty of room for those boxes else- 
where — in fact, we’ve got space enough to give every 
box a room to itself. There is an empty bedroom just 
below. Presently Fm going to shunt all your lumber in 
there.” 

Marion nodded approvingly. Of course if Geoffrey 
said a thing it was done. He might have turned the 
castle upside down and the girls would have aided and 
abetted him. 

“I should like to be present when those boxes are 
moved,” she said. “There are hundreds of rare and 
curious things that belonged to my mother — things that 
the British Museum would long to possess. Remember, 
my ancestors were rulers in Tibet for thousands of years. 
Some day I’ll show you my curios. But don’t begin to 
move those boxes till I am ready to assist.” • 

“I shall not be ready for an hour, Marion.” 

“Very well, then, I shall be back in an hour, 
astronomer.” 

Geoffrey finished his work presently. Then he ran up 
to the turret-room and opened the door. The place was 
dusty and dirty to a degree, and filled with packing-cases. 
Apparently they were all of foreign make — wooden 
boxes, with queer inscriptions, lacquered boxes, and one 
fragile wooden box clamped and decorated in filigree 
brass. 


74 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“A queer thing/’ Geoffrey murmured. “And old, very 
old, too.” 

“Over a thousand years. There is only one more like 
it in the world, and no Christian eyes save four have 
ever looked upon it. When you take that box from the 
room, see that it is the last, Geoffrey. You hear?” 

It was Ralph who spoke. He had appeared silently 
and mysteriously as usual. He spoke calmly, but his 
twitching lips were eloquent of suppressed excitement. 

“Very well,” Geoffrey said carelessly. He was getting 
used to these strange quick appearances and these equally 
strange requests. “It shall be as you desire, uncle.” 

Ralph nodded. He gave a swift turn of his head as 
if looking for ^some one unconsciously, then he crossed 
the room and stooped down beside the brass-bound box, 
which was at the bottom of a pile of packages. His long 
fingers felt over the quaint brasses. 

“A most remarkable-looking pattern,” said Geoffrey. 

“It is not a pattern at all,” Ralph replied. 

“The quaint filigree work is a language — the written 
signs of old Tibet, only you are not supposed to know 
that; indeed, I only found it out myself a few days ago. 
It had been a long search; but, as I can only see with 
my fingers, you can understand that. But this is part of 
the secret.” 

Geoffrey was profoundly interested. 

“Tell me what the language says?” he asked. 

“Not now — perhaps not at all. It i^ a ghastly and 
terrible thing, and even your nerves are not fireproof. 
There is only one thing I have to ask you before I 
efface myself for the present. When you take up that 
box to carry it down stairs it is to slip through your 
fingers. You are to drop it.” 

“I am to drop that box. Is there anything else?” 

“Not for the present. You are smiling; I feel 
that you are smiling. For Heaven’s sake take this 
seriously; take everything that I say seriously, boy. 
Oh, I know what is in your mind — I am going in ^ 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 75 

clumsy way to get something. I might so easily get 
what I require by a little judicious burglary. That is 
what your unsophisticated mind tells you. Later 
you will know better.’' 

Ralph turned cheerfully round and left the room. 
He paused in the doorway. ‘‘Don’t forget,” he said, 
“that my visit here is a secret. In fact, everything is 
a secret until I give you permission to make it 
public.” 

This time he left. Geoffrey had managed to drag 
one or two of the boxes away before Marion appeared. 
She reproached him gently that he had not waited for 
her. There might be spooks and bogies in those pack- 
ages capable of harm. * 

“I dare say there are,” Geoffrey laughed. “But you 
were such a long time. Every girl seems to imagine 
that an hour is like a piece of elastic — you can stretch 
it out as long as you like. At any rate I have done no 
harm. As far as I can judge there’s only one good 
thing here.” 

“And what is that?” Marion asked. 

Geoffrey pointed to the floor. 

“That one,” he said. “The queer brass-bound box 
at the bottom.” 


CHAPTER XIV 


""it might be you'^ 

Marion caught her breath quickly. The marble 
pallor of her face showed up more strongly against her 
dark hair. Geoffrey caught the look and his eyes 
grew sympathetic. 

“What’s the matter, little girl?” he asked. “It isn’t 
like you to faint.” 

“Neither am I going to faint, Geoff. But I had 
forgotten all about that box. I cannot go into details, 
for there are some things that we don’t talk about to 
anybody. But that box is connected with rather an 
unhappy time in my youth.” 

“Hundreds of years ago,” Geoffrey said flippantly. 

“Oh, but it is no laughing matter, I assure you. 
When my mother was a child she was surrounded by 
all the craft and superstition of her race and religion. 
That was long before she got converted and married 
my father. I don’t know how it was managed, but 
my mother never quite broke with her people, and once 
or twice, when she went to stay in Tibet, I accom- 
panied her. 

“My mother used to get restless at times, and then 
nothing would do but a visit to Tibet. And yet, at 
other times, nobody could possibly have told her from 
a European with foreign blood in her veins. For 
months and months she would be as English as you 
and I. Then the old fit would come over her. 

“There was not a cleverer or more brilliant woman 
in India than my mother. When she died she gave 
me these things, and I was not to part with them. And, 
76 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 77 

much as I should like to disobey, I cannot break that 
promise/' 

It seemed to Geoffrey that Marion spoke more 
regretfully than feelingly. He had never heard her say 
so much regarding her mother before. Affectionate 
and tender as Marion was, there was not the least trace 
of these characteristics in her tone now. 

“Did you really love your mother?" Geoffrey asked 
suddenly. 

“I always obeyed her," Marion stammered. “And 
I’d rather not discuss the subject, Geoff. Oh, they 
were bad people, my mother’s ancestors. They 
possessed occult knowledge far beyond anything 
known or dreamt of by the wisest Western savants. 
They could remove people mysteriously, they could 
strike at a long distance, they could wield unseen 
terrors. Such is the terror that hangs over Raven- 
spur, for instance." 

Marion smiled sadly. Her manner changed suddenly 
and she was her old self again. 

“Enough of horrors," she said. “I came here to help 
you. Come along." 

The boxes were carried below until only the brass- 
bound one remained. Geoffrey stooped to lift it. The 
wood was light and thin, the brass-work was the merest 
tracing. 

A sudden guilty feeling came over Geoffrey as he 
raised it shoulder-high. He felt half inclined to defy 
his uncle Ralph and take the consequences. It seemed 
a mean advantage, a paltry gratifying of what, after 
all, might be mere curiosity. 

But the vivid recollection of those strained, sightless 
eyes rose before him. Ralph Ravenspur was not the 
man to possess the petty vice of irrepressible curiosity. 
Had it not been a woman he had to deal with, and 
Marion at that, Geoffrey would not have hesitated for 
a moment. Down below in the hall he heard the hollow 
rasp of Ralph’s voice. 


78 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


Geoffrey made up his mind grimly. He seemed to 
stumble forward, and the box fell from his shoulder, 
crashing down on the stone floor. The force of the 
shock simply shivered it in pieces, a great nest of grass 
and feathers dropped out, and from the inside a large 
mass of strange objects appeared. 

“I am very sorry,” Geoffrey stammered after the 
box had fallen. 

“Never mind,” she said, “accidents will happen.” 

But Geoffrey was rapt in the contemplation of what 
he saw before him — some score or more of ivory discs, 
each of which contained some painting; many of them 
appeared to be portraits. 

Geoffrey picked up one of them and examined it 
curiously. He was regarding an ivory circle with a 
dark face upon it, the face of a beautiful fury. 

“Why, this is you,” Geoffrey cried. “If you could 
only give way to a furious passion, it is you to the 
life.” 

“I had forgotten that,” Marion gasped. “Of course, 
it is not me. See how old and stained the ivory is; 
hundreds of years old, it must be. Don’t ask any more 
questions, but go and throw that thing in the sea. 
Never speak of the subject again.” 

Geoffrey promised. He strode out of the house and 
along the terrace. As he was descending the steps, a 
hand touched his arm. Ralph stood there. 

“Give it me,” he said, “at once.” 

“Give you what, uncle?” 

“That ivory thing you have in your pocket. I 
felt certain it was there. Give it to me. Assume 
you have cast it over the cliffs. Marion will be 
satisfied.” 

“But I promised Marion that ” 

“Oh, I know. And if you knew everything, you 
would not hesitate for a moment to comply with my 
request.” 

“Uncle, I cannot do this thing.” 



The force of the shock simply shivered it in pieces, and 
from inside a large mass of strange objects appeared. 

—Page 78. 



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THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 79 

A hard expression came over Ralph’s face. 

“Listen,” he said in his rasping voice. “The lives 
and happiness of us all are at stake. The very exist- 
ence of the woman you love is in your hands. 

“I have schemed for this,” he said. “I expected 
it. And now you are going to balk me. It is not as 
if I did not know what you possess.” 

“That is because you must have overheard my 
conversation with Marion.” 

“I admit it,” Ralph said coolly. “I listened, of course. 
But you found it and I heard what I expected. It is 
for you to say whether the truth comes out or not.” 

“The truth, the truth,” Geoffrey cried passionately. 
“It must out.” 

“Then give me that miniature. I’ll ask you on my 
knees if you like.” 

There was an imploring ring in the speaker’s voice. 
Geoffrey hesitated. 

“If no harm is to come to Marion,” he said, “I might 
break my word.” 

Ralph gripped him by the arm convulsively. 

“I swear it,” he whispered. “On my honor be it. 
Have I not told you before that not for all Ravenspur 
would I have a hair of that girl’s head injured! If ever 
a man in this world meant anything, I mean that. The 
miniature, come!” 

And Geoffrey, with a sigh, handed the ivory disc 
to Ralph. 


CHAPTER XV 


RALPH RAVENSPUR^S CONCEIT 

‘T should like to know why you wanted the ivory 
picture?” 

It was Geoffrey who asked the question. He and 
Ralph Ravenspur were moving along the lanes that 
led up to the cliffs. They were deep lanes, with over- 
hanging edges on either side — lanes where it was not 
easy for two conveyances to pass. 

“I dare say you would,” Ralph replied. “But not 
at present. In due course you must know everything. 
Geoffrey, you are fond of novel reading?” 

“Yes, especially books of the Gaboriau type. And 
yet, in all my reading, I never knew a more thrilling 
mystery than that of the ivory portrait.” 

“You had a good look at it, then?” 

“Of course I did. The likeness to Marion was 
amazing. It might have been her own photograph 
on the ivory. It was the same, yet not the same — 
Marion transformed to an avenging fury.” 

“An ancestress of hers, no doubt?” 

“Of course. The idea of it being Marion herself 
is out of the question.” 

“That you may dismiss at once,” Ralph said. “The 
age of the medallion proves that and Marion is an 
angel.” 

“She is. Uncle Ralph, I am fearfully puzzled. What 
can Marion’s queer ancestors and all that kind of thing 
have to do with our family terror?” 

Ralph declined to say, beyond the fact that there was 
8o 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS Si 


a connection. A horseman was coming pounding down 
the lane and he stepped aside instinctively. 

“Jessop,” he murmured, ‘T can tell by the trot of 
his horse.'’ 

Jessop, one of the farmers on the estate, it was. 
Geoffrey regarded his companion admiringly. He 
seemed to be able to dispense with eyes altogether. 
A long course of training in woodcraft stood him in 
good stead now. The apple-cheeked farmer pulled up 
so as to pass the squires at a walking pace. 

“Morning, Jessop,” Geoffrey cried cheerfully. 
“Where are you going dressed in your best. And what 
are you doing with that feminine-looking box?” 

The big man grinned sheepishly. 

“Riding into town,” he explained. “Fact is, missus 
and myself have got a lodger, a great lady, who’s 
taken our drawing-room and two bedrooms. They do 
say it’s going to be the fashion for the 'quality’ to 
spend their holidays right in t’country. It’s a rare help 
to us these hard times.” 

Ralph Ravenspur turned round suddenly upon his 
nephew. 

“Is it a fact?” he demanded. “Is it as Jessop says?” 

“I believe so,” Geoffrey replied. “I know that for 
the last five years the influx of visitors along this lonely 
coast has been steadily growing. It seems to have 
become quite the thing for good-class people to take 
cottages and farmhouses miles away from everywhere, 
but I have not heard of any of our tenants having them 
before.” 

“I be the first here, sir,” Jessop replied. “The lady 
came over and said she had been recommended to 
come to us. Not as I wanted her at first, but six 
guineas a week for two months ain’t to be despised. 
But the lady has a power of parcels to be fetched and 
carried, surely. That’s why I’m off to town.” 

Jessop touched his hat and rode on. For a time 
Ralph was silent. 


82 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“It’s some time since I last visited an English 
watering-place,” he said, “and Scarborough was the 
spot in question. We had a furnished house there 
one season, a good house, well furnished, and beauti- 
fully situated. We paid eight pounds a week for it, 
and it was considered to be a lot of money. Don’t 
you think that Jessop’s lodger must be a very extrava- 
gant kind of woman ?” 

Geoffrey laughed. Like most young men born to the 
purple, he had a light estimate of the value of money. 

“Now you come to think of it, perhaps so,” he said. 
“Over at Brigg, the farmers fancy they do well if they 
get ten shillings a room for the week.” 

Again Ralph was thoughtful. He and his companion 
came up out of the lane, and then it dawned upon 
Geoffrey that the other had turned, not towards the cliffs 
as arranged, but inland in the direction of Jessop’s farm. 

There was a long, deep lane to the west side of the 
stone farmhouse, into which Ralph turned. From a gap 
in the hedge a peep into the garden could be obtained. 
There was a trim lawn bordered by old-fashioned flow- 
ers, two bay windows led from the house to the garden. 
These bay windows led from the show rooms of the 
house, rooms never opened except on state occasions. 
The house might have been made fit for anybody with 
very little alteration. 

Ralph sat down on the grass and slowly filled an aged 
black pipe. 

“I’m going to smoke here while you see Mrs. Jessop. 
I have a fancy to find out all about this fashionable lady 
who buries herself in the country like this. Call it 
curiosity if you like, but do as I ask you. If you can see 
the lady so much the better.” 

Geoffrey agreed cheerfully. A moment or two later 
and he was gossiping with the buxom farmer’s wife in 
the kitchen, a glass of amber, home-brewed ale before 
him. He was a favorite with the tenantry, and none the 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 83 

less beloved because of the cloud that was hanging over 
him. 

“It does one’s eyes good to see you again, Mr. 
Geoffrey,” Mrs. Jessop cried. “And you so cheerful and 
bright, and all, dear, dear! Fm main sorry I can’t ask 
you in the parlor, but we’ve got a lodger.” 

“So Jessop told me. Not that I don’t feel far more 
comfortable here. And what may your distinguished 
visitor be like, Mrs. Jessop?” 

“Dark and handsome. And dressed over so. Might 
be a princess, who had just slipped off her throne. And 
clever. She had books and books, some in languages that 
look like Chinese puzzles.” 

“Some great society dame, no doubt.” 

“I shouldn’t be surprised, Mr. Geoffrey. But not Eng- 
lish, I should fancy, though she speaks the language as 
well as you or I. And simple, too. Just tea and toast 
for breakfast with a little meat and rice for luncheon and 
dinner with stewed fruit. And she never drinks any- 
thing but water. What she spends a week in food 
wouldn’t keep one of our laborers. And she had pounds’ 
worth of hot-house flowers sent from York every day.” 

Mrs. Jessop paused. There was a rustling of some- 
thing rich, and a lady entered the kitchen. Geoffrey rose 
instantly from the table upon which he had been seated. 

He saw a tall woman who might have been anything 
between thirty and fifty years of age, a woman of great 
beauty. It was the hard, commanding style of beauty 
that men call regal. She might have been a queen, but 
for the faint suggestion of the adventuress about her. To 
Geoffrey’s bow she made the slightest possible haughty 
recognition. 

“I’m going out, Mrs. Jessop,” she said. “I shall be 
back to luncheon. If a telegram should happen to come 
for me, I shall be along the cliffs between here and 
Beauhaven.” 

She flashed out of the kitchen all rustling and gleam- 


84 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


ing, and leaving the faint suggestion of some intoxicat- 
ing perfume behind her. And yet, notwithstanding her 
proud indifference, it seemed to Geoffrey that she had 
regarded him with more than passing interest just for 
the moment. 

‘‘She is very beautiful,” he said. “She is a total 
stranger to me, and yet she reminds me of somebody else, 
somebody whose name I can't recall, but who is totally 
different. It is a strange sort of- feeling that I cannot 
explain.” 

“She's interested for all her haughtiness,” said Mrs. 
Jessop. “Fm sure if she has asked me one question about 
your family, she has asked a thousand.” 

Geoffrey strolled away round the house. There was 
a short cut to the place where Ralph was seated, and this 
short cut lay along the lawn. Geoffrey's feet made no 
noise. As he passed the window of the sitting-room he 
looked in. 

The place was full of flowers, white flowers every- 
where. There were azaleas and geraniums and carna- 
tions, with delicate foliage of tender green, thousands of 
blooms, arranged wherever a specimen glass or a bowl 
could go. 

Standing with his back to the window, a man was 
arranging them. And the man was a Hindoo, or other 
Eastern, one of the men Geoffrey had seen going through 
that queer incantation on the cliffs. Strange, more than 
strange, that Mrs. Jessop had said nothing of him. 

Geoffrey prudently slipped away before he had been 
seen. He found his uncle doggedly smoking under the 
hedge. He looked like patience personified. 

“Well,” he said, “have you anything wonderful to 
relate ?” 

“Pretty well,” Geoffrey replied. “To begin with, I 
have actually seen the lady.” 

“Ah! But go on. Tell me everything, everything, 
mind, to the minutest detail.” 

Geoffrey proceeded to explain. Whether he was in- 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 85 


teresting his listener or not he could not tell, for Ralph 
had assumed his most wooden expression; indeed, a 
casual spectator would have said that he was not paying 
the slightest attention. Then he began to ask questions, 
in a languid way, but Geoffrey could see that they were 
all to the point. 

‘T should not be surprised,’’ he said, ^‘if the man you 
saw in the house was one of the men you saw on the 
cliffs. Mrs. Jessop said nothing about him, because she 
knew nothing. So he was arranging the lady’s flowers. 
What flowers?” 

‘‘Azaleas and carnations and geraniums. Nothing 
else.” 

“Well, there may be worse taste, if there can be bad 
taste with flowers. Any color?” 

“Yes, they were all white. I was a little surprised at 
that, considering that the lady was so dafk and Eastern- 
looking.” 

“Of course you ascertained her name?” 

“Indeed, I did nothing of the kind. I forgot all about 
it. But I had a good look at her, and the description I 
gave you is quite correct. Uncle, I don’t want to seem 
unduly curious, but I fancy you expected to find this 
lady here.” 

Ralph rose to his feet slowly, and knocked out the 
ashes of his pipe. He turned his face toward the castle. 

“I am not altogether surprised,” he said. 

Not another word was said for some time. Ralph 
appeared to be deeply cogitating, so deeply that Geoffrey 
asked of what he was thinking. 

“I was thinking,” Ralph said slowly, yet drily, and 
with the same dense manner, “that a pair of dark, gold- 
rimmed glasses would improve my personal appearance.” 


CHAPTER XVI 


THE WHITE FLOWERS 

Surely enough, when Ralph Ravenspur came into the 
great hall, where tea was being served, he was wearing 
a pair of dark glasses, with gold rims. Slight as the 
alteration was in itself, it changed him almost beyond 
recognition. He had been doing something to his face 
also, for the disfiguring scar had practically disappeared. 
As he came feeling his way to a chair, the slight thread 
of conversation snapped altogether. 

“Don’t mind me,” he said quietly. “You will get used 
to the change, and you cannot deny it is a change for the 
better. One of the causes leading to this vanity was a 
remark I overheard on the part of one of the servants. 
She expressed the opinion that I should look better in 
glasses. That opinion I shared. I have no doubt the 
maid was correct.” 

All this was uttered in the dry, soft, caustic manner 
Ralph constantly affected. Nobody answered, mostly 
because it was assumed that no reply was expected. 
With a cup of tea in his hand Ralph began to speak of 
other things. 

Leading from the hall was a big conservatory. Here 
Marion was busy among her flowers. She was singing 
gently as she snipped a bud here and there, and Vera 
was helping her. Curled up in a leisure chair, Geoffrey 
was absorbed in a book. The smoke from his cigarette 
circled round his head. 

Ralph placed his cup down again and felt his way into 
the conservatory. He stood in the doorway listening to 
the controversy going on beyond. 

86 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 87 

‘T don’t fancy I shall like it,” said Vera. ^Tt will be 
too cold, too funereal.” 

‘'My dear child,” Marion cried, “then we will abandon 
the idea. Only don’t forget that it was your own sug- 
gestion. You said it would look chaste.” 

“Did I really! Then I had forgotten about it. And 
we are not going to abandon the idea. It shall not be 
said that I change my mind like a weathercock. The 
flowers on the dinner table to-night are all going to be 
white.” 

Marion paused in the act of cutting a lily. 

“I don’t fancy I would,” she urged. “After all, second 
thoughts are best. White flowers on a table do suggest 
a funeral, that is if they are all white. And in an unfor- 
tunate house like this anything melancholy is to be dis- 
couraged. I think I will throw these blooms away ” 

“You will do nothing of the kind,” Vera cried. “White 
it shall be, and you and I shall arrange them in the best 
possible style. Why, you have enough already. Come 
along and we’ll 'fix’ up the table at once. Uncle Ralph, 
how you startled me.” 

“Did I ?” Ralph said coolly. “I fancy it is my mission 
in life to startle people. What have you two been quar- 
reling about?” 

“We were not quarreling,” Vera replied. “Marion in- 
sists that white flowers on a dinner-table are cold and 
chilly, not to say funereal. I say they are chaste and 
elegant. And, to prove that I am right, the table to-night 
will be decorated with white flowers.” 

“Not with my consent,” Marion laughed. “I have 
set my face dead against the whole business. But spoilt 
Vera always gets her own way.” 

Vera smiled as she passed on with an armful of the 
nodding white flowers. Ralph passed slowly into the 
conservatory and closed the stained-glass door behind 
him. 

Then he crossed the tiled floor rapidly as if his eyes 
were all that could be desired, and slipped up a glass 


88 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


panel at the far end of the conservatory. From this 
point there was a sheer fall down the cliffs on to a hard 
sandy beach below. 

“Just the same/’ Ralph muttered. “Nothing altered. 
And just as easy.” 

He crossed the tiles again and passed into the great 
stone flagged hall in his slow way. Then he proceeded 
to light his pipe and strolled into the grounds. Past the 
terrace he went until he came to the cliffs where he was 
out of sight of the house. 

Then with the confidence of the mountain goat he 
made his way to the beach, the hard strip of beach that 
lay under the shadow of the castle. Here he fumbled for 
some time among the damp slippery rocks, feeling for 
something with infinite care and patience. 

His perseverance was rewarded at last. His hands lay 
on a mass of flowers, damp and sodden and yet com- 
paratively fresh. He lifted one to his nostrils and 
sniffed it. 

“As I thought,” he said, “as I expected. How cun- 
ning it all is, how beautifully worked out ! And nothing, 
however small, is left to chance. Well, I came home 
in the nick of time, and I have found an ally I can de- 
pend upon. Only it was just as well not to let Geoffrey 
know that I knew of Jessop’s lodger before to-day. I 
wonder if my lady guesses how carefully she is being 
watched.” 

Half an hour later Ralph was in the castle again, wan- 
dering about in his restless way and appearing to be in- 
terested in nothing, as usual. Presently the great bell 
began to clang in the turret, and the family partly gath- 
ered in the dining room before dinner. Vera was the 
last to arrive. 

“How lovely you look,” Geoffrey whispered. 

Vera laughed and colored. She had a white dress 
without ornament and without flowers, save a deep red 
rose in her hair. 

“That red rose is the crowning touch,” said Geoffrey. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 89 

*T thought it was to be all white to-night/' Ralph said. 
He had caught the whispered words, as he seemed to 
catch everything. “Was that not so, Vera?" 

“Not for me, sir," Vera replied. “I am in white." 

“I wish you could see her," Geoffrey said tenderly, 
“she looks lovely. Her eyes are so blue, her skin is like 
the sunny side of a peach." 

“And your tongue is like that of a goose," Vera 
laughed. “Never mind. Uncle Ralph. Never mind. If 
you can't have the inestimable advantage of gazing on 
my perfect beauty, you shall have the privilege of sitting 
by me at dinner." 

Geoffrey pleaded with comic despair, but Vera was 
obdurate. As the bell clanged again, she laid a hand light 
as thistledown on Ralph's arm. She was brighter and 
more gay than usual this evening and Marion played up 
to her, as she always did. 

The elders were silent. Perhaps the white flowers on 
the table checked them. They were so suggestive of the 
wreaths on a coffin. 

When once the cloth was drawn in the good old- 
fashioned way, and the decanters and lamps and glasses 
stood mirrored in the shining dark mahogany, the re- 
semblance was more marked than ever. The long strip 
of white damask, whereon lamps and flowers and de- 
canters rested, might have been a winding sheet. Rupert 
Ravenspur protested moodily. 

“It's dreadful in a house like this," he said. “Who 
did it?" 

“I am the culprit, dearest," Vera admitted prettily. 
“Marion did all in her power to prevent me, but I would 
have my own foolish way. If you will forgive me I will 
promise that it shall not occur again." 

Rupert Ravenspur smiled. It was only when he was 
looking at Vera that the tender relaxation came over 
his stern old face. Then his eyes fixed on the flowers 
and they seemed to draw him forward. 

“You are forgiven," he said. “Marion was right, as 


90 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

she always is. What should we do without your cheer- 
fulness and good advice? Upon my word I feel as if 
those flowers were drawing all the reason out of me.’' 

Nobody replied. It was a strange and curious thing 
that everybody seemed to be regarding the waxen blos- 
soms in the same dull, sleepy, fascinating way. All eyes 
were turned upon them as eyes are turned upon some 
thrilling, repulsive performance. The silence was grow- 
ing oppressive and painful. 

Geoffrey gave a little gasp and laid his hand upon his 
chest. 

“What is it?” he said. “There is a pain here like a 
knife. I am burning.” 

Nobody took the faintest notice. Only Ralph seemed 
to be alive, and yet there was no kind of expression on 
his face. Heads were drawing nearer and nearer to the 
vases where the graceful flowers were grouped — those 
innocent looking blooms which were the emblems of all 
that was fair and fine and beautiful. 

What did it mean, what strange mystery was here? 
Nobody could speak, nobody wanted to speak; all were 
sinking, lulled and soothed into a poppyland sleep, even 
Geoffrey who seemed to be fighting for something he 
knew not what. 

Then Ralph reached out his hand to the foot of the 
table. His long, lean fingers were tangled in the strip 
of damask down the mahogany table on which lamps and 
decanters and glasses and dishes of fruit were placed. 

With a vigorous pull he brought the whole thing crash- 
ing on the polished floor, where two pools of paraffin 
made a blaze of the wreck that Ralph had caused. Then 
he slid over the floor and opened one of the windows, 
letting in the pure air fresh from the North Sea. 


CHAPTER XVII 


WHENCE DID THEY COME? 

In the darkness nobody spoke for a moment. Not one 
of them could have said anything- for a king’s ransom. 
Apart from the feeling of suffocation, the gradual poppy 
sleep of death that filled the room as a great wave sud- 
denly engulfs some rocky cave, the dramatic horror of 
the darkness held them fast. 

At the same time there was something of a shock, a 
healthy shock in the plunge from light to gloom. A fitful 
purple gleam still flickered where the blazing paraffin had 
licked the hard oak polished floor; the breath of the sea 
breeze was bracing. It was Marion who first came to 
herself as one comes out of a horrid nightmare. 

^‘Oh, oh,” she shuddered. “Who opened the window ?” 

Nobody responded for a moment. Ralph had crept 
to Geoffrey’s side. It was marvelous how he found his 
way in the intense darkness. 

“Say you did it,” he whispered. “You must say you 
did it. Speak.” 

“I suppose I did,” Geoffrey murmured. “I seem to 
recollect something of the kind.” 

“You have saved our lives,” said Marion. “Will some- 
body ring the bell?” 

Servants came without much dismay or surprise. They 
were used to amazing things at Ravenspur. It would 
have caused no more than a painful sensation to come 
in some night after dinner and find the whole family 
murdered. 

“Bring more lamps,” Ralph Ravenspur said quietly. 

Lamps were brought. The disordered litter on the 

91 


92 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


floor was swept up, the broken globes, the dainty china, 
the glass and silver. The white flowers were no longer 
there. This was a puzzle to everybody but Ralph, who 
had gathered them at the first distraction, and thrown 
them out of the window. 

There was silence for a minute or two after the serv- 
ants had withdrawn. Then Rupert Ravenspur dashed 
his fist on the table in a passion of despair. 

'‘Great Heaven!” he said. “How long, how long? » 
How much more of this is it possible to bear and still 
retain the powers of reason? What was it?” 

“Could it have been the flowers?” Vera suggested. “It 
was my fault.” 

“No, no,” Marion cried. “Why your fault? Those 
white blossoms were innocent enough; we packed them 
ourselves, we arranged them together.” 

“Still, I believe it was the flowers,” Geoffrey observed. 
“Why should they have fascinated us in that strange 
way ? It was horrible !” 

Horrible indeed, and not the less so because the hof- 
rible was not conspicuous by its absence. That innocent 
flowers, pure white blossoms, could lend themselves to 
a dark mystery like this was almost maddening. 

And yet it must have been so, for no sooner had the 
flowers been removed and the air of heaven had entered 
the room than the grip and bitterness of death were 
past. 

“I am sure we were near the end,” Marion cried. 
“Geoff, was it you who snatched the cloth from the 
table?” 

Geoffrey was about to deny the suggestion when his 
eyes fell upon Ralph’s face. It was eager, almost plead- 
ing in its aspect. Like a flash the changing expression 
was gone. 

“It must have been mechanical,” Geoffrey murmured. 
“One does those things and calls them impulses. In- 
spiration would be a better expression, I fancy.” 

They crowded round him and gave him their thanks, 


.THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 93 

all save Ralph, who sat drumming his fingers on the table 
as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Noth- 
ing seemed to draw him out of his environment. 

Still, it was another man who came creeping to 
Geoffrey’s room when the lights were extinguished and 
the castle was wrapped in slumber. There was an inner 
room lying out over the sea, which Geoffrey used in- 
differently for a smoking room and study. 

'T can smoke my pipe here without a chance of our 
being overheard,” he said. ‘‘Well, was the adventure 
this evening creepy enough for you?” 

Geoffrey shuddered slightly. Flagrant, rioting dan- 
gers would have had no terrors for him. It was the 
unseen that played on the nerves of imagination. 

“Horrible,” he said, “but why this mystery?” 

“As far as I am concerned, you mean? My dear 
Geoffrey, it is imperative that I should be regarded by 
everybody as a poor blind worm who is incapable for 
good or evil. I want people to pity me, to make way for 
me, to treat me as if I were of no account, a needless 
cumberer of the ground. I want to see that you prevent 
these tragedies by sheer chance. I will strike when the 
time comes !” 

The hoarse voice had sunk to a whisper, the sightless 
eyes rolled, the thin fingers crooked as if dragging down 
an unseen foe to destruction. As suddenly Ralph changed 
his mood and laughed noiselessly. 

“Let us not prophesy,” he said. “What did you think 
of the episode?” 

“I don’t know what to think about it.” 

“Then you have no theory to offer ?” 

“No, uncle. I am in the dark. That is where the keen 
edge of the terror comes in. I should say it was the 
flowers. As the atmosphere of the room grew warmer, 
as the heat from the lamps drew out the fragrance of 
the blooms, the perfume seemed to become overpowering. 
The perfume riveted attention, arrested the senses, and 
gradually sense and feeling appeared to go altogether.” 


94 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


^‘Perfectly right, Geoffrey. Still, there is nothing very 
wonderful about it. Lucretia Borgia used the same 
means to despatch her victims. A poisoned bouquet was 
a favorite weapon of hers, you remember.’’ 

“But the poison there was conveyed through the palms 
of the hands. Why do we never hear of that sort of 
poison nowadays?” 

Ralph smiled as he refilled his pipe. 

“I’ve got some of it myself,” he said, “or at least 
Tchigorsky has. It is poor, inartistic stuff, compared to 
some of the poisons known to Tchigorsky and myself. 
There are Eastern poisons unknown to science; toxicol- 
ogy little dreams of the drugs that Tchigorsky and your 
poor uncle wot of. 

“You are right. Those flowers were impregnated with 
the deadly drug that comes out with warmth. It comes 
as quickly as a breath of wind and does its work and 
vanishes almost immediately, leaving no trace behind. 
Another minute and the whole family of Ravenspur had 
been no more. There would have been a fearful sensa- 
tion ; doctors would have discoursed learnedly — and 
vaguely — and there would have been an end to the mat- 
ter. Not a soul in England would have had the remotest 
idea of the source of the tragedy. Look here.” 

From under his coat Ralph produced a single white 
carnation. 

“That was on the table to-night,” he said. “Take it 
in your handes. Smell it. Do you recognize anything 
beyond the legitimate perfume?” 

Geoffrey held the perfect bloom to his nostrils. He 
could detect nothing further. 

“It seems to me to be as innocent as beautiful,” he 
said. 

“So it is, so it is — at present. Give it me back again. 
See, I have here a little white, dull powder. In it is 
the one-thousandth part of a grain of the deadly drug. 
I dust the powder on the carnation, thus. The natural 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 95 

moisture in the leaves absorbs it and the flower presents 
a normal aspect. Smell it.’' 

‘T smell nothing* at all,” said Geoffrey. 

‘‘Not yet. Hold it to the lamp for ten seconds.” 

Geoffrey did so. At the end of the brief space he 
placed it to his nostrils as Ralph suggested. Immediately 
a drowsy feeling came over him,, a desire for sleep, a 
desire to be at rest in body and mind, in heart and pulses. 
Indeed, it seemed to him as if his heart had stopped 
already. 

Through a yellow scented mist he seemed to see his 
uncle and hear the latter’s voice commanding him to drop 
the carnation. He could not have done it to save him- 
self from destruction. Then the flower was plucked 
away. 

“How long have I been asleep?” he asked, suddenly 
opening his eyes. 

“You have been across the Styx and back in exactly 
fifty seconds,” Ralph said gravely. “Now you see the 
effect of that stuff. Wonderfully artistic, isn’t it?” 

Geoffrey gazed at the flower with sickening horror. 
Ralph seemed to divine this, for he picked it up, sniffed 
it coolly and placed it in his button-hole. 

“The evil effect has gone, believe me,” he said. “The 
dose was very small, and I did not mix it with water, 
which makes a difference.” 

“Still, I don’t follow,” Geoffrey said. “We know those 
flowers were cut and arranged by Vera and Marion. It 
would have been impossible for any one to have entered 
the dining-room and replaced them with other white 
flowers. And for anybody to have had the time to im- 
pregnate them one by one — oh, it is impossible !” 

“Not at all, Geoffrey. A mystery is like a conjuring 
trick — seemingly insoluble, but you know how it is done, 
and then it becomes bald and commonplace. Suppose 
the stuff is mixed with water and the mixture placed in 
a small spray worked by an india-rubber ball. Then one 


96 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

goes into the dining hall for half a minute, gives two or 
three rapid motions of the hand, and the thing is accom- 
plished.’^ 

“Yes, that sounds easy. You speak as if you knew 
who did it.” 

“Yes,” Ralph said, with one of his spasmodic smiles, 
“I do.” 

“You know the author of this dastardly thing. 
Tell me.” 

“Not yet. I dare not tell you, because you are young 
and might betray yourself. I could not confide my secret 
to any one, even the best detective in England. It is 
only known to Tchigorsky and myself. You shall help 
me in drawing the net around the miscreants, but you 
must not ask me that.” 

“And to-night’s doings are to remain a secret?” 

“Of course. Nobody is to know anything. They may 
conjecture as much as they like. Good heavens, if any 
one in the house were to know what I have told you to- 
night, all my work would be undone. You are my in- 
strument, by which I ward off danger without attracting 
attention to myself. You are the unsuspecting boy, who 
by sheer good luck foils the enemy. Keep it up, keep it 
up ; for so long as you appear young and unsophisticated, 
there is less of the deadly danger.” 


CHAPTER XVIII 


MRS. MONA MAY 

Geoffrey was slightly puzzled but, like a good soldier, 
he asked no questions. More and more he was coming 
to recognize that it was Ralph’s to command and his to 
obey. Doubtless Ralph had some good reason when he 
treated his nephew like a puppet, but then the puppet was 
a long way from a fool, and as the days went on, it came 
home to him with an increasing force that he had a mas- 
ter mind to deal with. 

He had been told off this afternoon to lurk more or 
less concealed at the top of the steep pitch leading to 
the village, and there wait until something happened. It 
came at the end of a few minutes in the shape of a lady 
in perfect cycling costume, wheeling a machine up the 
hill towards Jessop’s farm. As she came nearer to the 
spot where Geoffrey was smoking, a ragged nomad 
sprang from the hedge and demanded alms. The man 
was coarse and threatening, he was by no means sober, 
and his demands took the by no means modest form of 
a shilling. 

A second later there was a slight scream and Geoffrey 
darted forward. The sight of a woman in distress 
sufficed for him; Ralph was forgotten in an instant. 
There was a scuffle and a plunge, a rapid exit of the 
nomad and, hat in hand, Geoffrey was receiving the 
thanks of a beautiful woman, who was pleased to assure 
him that he was her preserver. 

‘Tt is nothing,” Geoffrey stammered, ‘‘nothing, really.” 

It was not usual for him to be confused like this. But 
then he was standing face to face with the handsome 

97 


98 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

stranger who had taken Mr. Jessop’s rooms, the lady with 
the love of white flowers, the woman who employed 
Oriental servants, who were given to strange incanta- 
tions, the creature in whom Ralph Ravenspur-had taken 
so vivid an interest. 

And Geoffrey's confusion grew none the less as it 
flashed upon him that the intoxicated tramp had been the 
god in the car designed by Ralph to bring this introduc- 
tion about. 

He steadied himself. There was work before him 
now. 

“You exaggerate my poor services," he said. 

“Not at all, I assure you," the lady said. Her eyes 
held a strange fascination ; her voice was low and sweetly 
sedative. She was years older than Geoffrey, but just 
the kind of siren who drove young men mad, or lured 
them to destruction. “Few strangers would have faced 
so formidable an opponent for me." 

“Most of my countrymen would," Geoffrey said. “I 
hope you have a better opinion of Englishmen than that. 
But Englishmen are not favorites abroad." 

The dark eyes were dancing with amusement. 

“You are under the impression that I am not Eng- 
lish?" she asked. 

“Well, there is a certain grace," Geoffrey stammered, 
“that spoke of " 

“Foreign blood. Precisely. But all the same, I am 
proud to call myself an Englishwoman. My name is 
Mrs. May — Mona May. You are Mr. Geoffrey Raven- 
spur." 

“At your service. I had the pleasure of seeing you 
the other morning in Mrs. Jessop's kitchen. Meanwhile, 
to prevent any further trouble from our predatory friend, 
I am going to walk with you as far as the farm." 

Mrs. May raised no objection; on the contrary, she 
seemed pleased with the idea. She was dangerous, she 
was mixed up in some way with the conspiracy against 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 99 


the peace and happiness of the house of Ravenspur, and 
yet Geoffrey found it hard to resist her fascinations. 

She spoke almost perfect English, her dress, and style 
and manner were insular, but there was a flashing grace 
about her, a suggestion of something warm and Eastern, 
that gleamed and flashed in spite of her cycling dress 
and the wheel she pushed along so skillfully. 

She gave a sigh of regret as the farmhouse was 
reached. 

“Well, I suppose we must part,” she said. “Really, it 
seems years since I spoke to a gentleman and I have only 
been here for days. I have been ordered absolute rest 
and quietness for the benefit of my health and, upon my 
word, I am getting it. Would you take pity upon my 
loneliness and come to tea?” 

Many an older man than Geoffrey had been excused 
from yielding to such a request. Those eyes were so 
dark and pleading, and the man was young. Besides, 
he had an excuse. Had not his uncle Ralph planned this 
thing and was it not intended to bring about an introduc- 
tion! Besides, once inside that room, it might be pos- 
sible to find something that in the future would yield 
great results. 

“I shall be only too pleased,” Geoffrey murmured. 

“Then come along,” Mrs. May said gaily. “If you 
are fond of a good cup of tea, then I have some of the 
most perfect in the world.” 

She led the way into the old-fashioned drawing-room, 
which she had rendered beautiful with flowers. The 
stiff furniture looked stiff no longer. The hand of an 
artistic woman had been here and the whole aspect was 
changed. 

“You should have seen it when I came here,” Mrs. 
May smiled as she followed Geoffrey’s glance. “It was 
like a condemned cell. And yet there are things of price 
here. A little alteration and a few flowers — ah, what a 
difference flowers make!” 


loo THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


She pointed to her own floral decorations. The room 
was ablaze with them. And they were all scarlet. 

There was not a single bloom of any other kind to 
be seen. 

“They match my style of beauty/^ Mrs. May laughed. 
“I never have any other here.’^ 

“You do not care for white flowers?” Geoffrey asked. 

“I abhor them. They suggest beautiful maidens cut 
off in their prime, dead children, the tomb, and all kinds 
of horrors. I would not have one in the house.” 

Geoffrey was discreetly silent. Remembering the hun- 
dreds of white flowers he himself had seen in this very 
room not so long ago, this speech staggered him. In a 
dazed kind of way he watched Mrs. May light a spirit 
lamp under a silver kettle, after which she excused her- 
self on the score of fetching the famous tea. 

Geoffrey picked up an album and turned the leaves 
over rapidly. There were soldiers, one or two native 
Indian officials, a great number of Society people, pro- 
fessional beauties, and the like and — and Marion! 

Yes, her fair tender face smiled from the embossed, 
richly gilt page. The picture had been taken some years 
ago, but there was no mistaking those pure features. 
Geoffrey closed the book and walked over to the window. 
Surprise upon surprise had come upon him lately, but 
this was staggering. 

When Mrs. May returned he was himself again. He 
could answer her questions gaily and smoothly. It was 
only when he was on his way home again that he recol- 
lected how much information he had imparted and how 
little he had got in return. 

“You must come and see me again,” Mrs. May said. 
“Now, can’t you come up some evening and dine with 
me? Say Thursday. Unless I hear from you to the con- 
trary I shall see you on Thursday at seven. A primitive 
time, but then we are in the country.” 

“You may be certain,” Geoffrey said carelessly, “that 
I shall come if possible. Good-bye, Mrs. May. In ordi- 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS loi 


nary circumstances my people would have called upon 
you. You will know why it is impossible.” 

Mrs. May pressed Geoffrey’s hand with gentle sym- 
pathy. 

'‘You have my real regrets,” she said. “What a hor- 
rible thing it is to think that you are all powerless to 
help it. Good-bye.” 

Geoffrey found Ralph at the entrance to the castle gate. 
There was a queer smile on his face, a smile of amused 
expectation. 

“You found her charming?” he asked. 

“And clever,” said Geoffrey. “I guessed your plot, 
uncle. She is very clever.” 

“The cleverest woman in the world, the most wicked, 
the most unscrupulous. Of course she asked you to din- 
ner, and, of course, you will go. Nobody is to know of 
it, mind.” 

“Uncle, how did you guess that ?” 

“I’ll tell you presently. And I’ll tell you many things 
you will have to say and leave unsaid to — Mrs. May.” 

“Tell me why Marion’s photograph is in her album.” 

“So she showed you that!” 

“No, I found it out by accident. Is Marion connected 
with her?” 

“Very closely, indeed. She is Marion’s evil genius. 
And yet through that pure and innocent girl we are going 
to strike at the heart of the mystery. Ask me no ques- 
tions, now; to-night we will go carefully into the matter.” 


CHAPTER XIX 


VERA IS NOT PLEASED 

Any stranger looking along the terrace at Ravenspur 
would have been inclined to envy the lot of those who 
had their habitation there. It looked so grand, so dig- 
nified, so peaceful. Brilliant sunshine shone upon the 
terrace; against the grey stone of the grand old fagade, 
the emerald green of the lawns rose refreshing to the 
eyes, those old lawns like velvet that only come with the 
passing of centuries. 

People from the rush and fret of cities, excursionists, 
who had their sordid, humdrum life in towns, turned 
longkig eyes to Ravenspur. Anybody who lived in a 
place like that must be happy. 

And some of them looked it. Geoffrey, for instance, 
as he lounged on the terrace with a cigarette between 
his strong, white teeth. He was seated with a cap over 
his eyes and appeared to be given over to a pleasant 
reverie. A rod and an empty fishing basket stood by 
his side. 

Ralph Ravenspur lounged up to him. Perhaps he had 
been waiting for his nephew. At any rate, he always 
knew where to find him. He sat with the sunshine full 
upon his sightless eyes and smoked his pipe placidly. 

“There is nobody about ?’’ he asked. 

“Nobody,” Geoffrey replied. “Do you want to say 
anything to me ?” 

Ralph made no reply. Geoffrey watched him curiously. 

“Do you know you seem to be a long way off to me this 
afternoon ?” he said presently. “I can’t quite explain my 

102 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 103 

meaning. Since you have worn those glasses you look 
a different man. There, now you are yourself again.” 

Ralph had taken off the glasses for a moment. 

'Ts the difference very marked ?” Ralph asked. 

‘‘Very marked, indeed. Honestly, I should not have 
known you.” 

Ralph gave a sigh, whether of sorrow or satisfaction 
Geoffrey could not say. 

“Time will prove whether the disguise is of any value 
or not,” he said. “I came to ask you about this evening. 
Are you going?” 

“Of course I am. Mrs. Mona May fascinates me. On 
the whole, I have deemed it advisable to say nothing to 
the others. We cannot call upon Mrs. May and they 
need not know that I have had any intercourse with her.” 

Ralph nodded. Perhaps he alone knew the real need 
for secrecy in this matter. 

“Quite right,” he said. “The less said the better. She 
wrote to you, of course ?” 

“Oh, yes. I had the letter yesterday.” 

“And destroyed it, of course?” 

“Upon my word, I’ve forgotten. I see you are angry 
with me. Well, I will try not to make a similar mistake 
again.” 

From the expression of his face Ralph was greatly 
moved. His features flamed with anger, he was trembling 
with passion to his finger-tips. Then his mood suddenly 
changed. He laid a kindly hand on Geoffrey’s knee. 

“My boy,” he said, earnestly. “There are reasons, 
weighty reasons why I cannot take you entirely into my 
confidence. If I did so, you would see the vital necessity 
of caution even in the most minute matters. You will 
see that Mrs. May’s letter is destroyed at once.” 

“I will, uncle. The rest of the family believe I am 
going to Alton to-night.” 

Ralph nodded. He seemed already to have forgotten 
the circumstances. He had fallen into one of those waking 
reveries that were deep as sleep to most men, Geoffrey 


104 the mystery of THE RAVENSPURS 


spoke to him more than once, but failed to gain the slight- 
est attention. Then Ralph rose and moved away like a 
man in a dream. 

Geoffrey lounged about till he had finished his cigarette. 
He tossed the end away and then proceeded towards the 
house. He would get that letter and destroy it without 
further delay. But this was easier said than done, for 
the simple reason that the letter was nowhere to be found. 
High and low Geoffrey searched for it, but all to no 
purpose. 

Had he left it in the dining-room or the library? Pos- 
sibly in the latter place, seeing that he had written a 
couple of notes there earlier in the day. It was dim, 
not to say gloomy in the library, and for a moment 
Geoffrey failed to see that Vera was seated at the table. 

He crossed over and touched her caressingly on the 
cheek. She looked up coldly. 

‘‘What are you looking for?’’ she asked. 

“A letter, dearest,'' Geoffrey replied. “But why do 
you look so strange " 

“Oh, you ask me that ! It is a letter you are looking 
for. Then perhaps I may be so fortunate as to assist you. 
I have just found a letter lying here addressed to you. 
As it lay with face open I could not but read it. See 
here!" 

A square of thick scented notepaper filled with a dash- 
ing black caligraphy shook before Geoffrey's eyes. It 
was Mrs. May's writing beyond a doubt. Geoffrey 
flushed slightly as he took the note. 

“Read it," Vera said quietly, “read it aloud." 

Geoffrey did so. It struck him now — it had never 
occurred to him before — that the writer was slightly 
caressing in her manner of phrasing. There was a sug- 
gestion of something warmer and more personal than 
the stereotyped lines implied. 

“So this is the Alton where you are going to-night?" 
Vera went on. “Who is the woman? How long have 
you known her ?" 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 105 

The quick blood came flaming to Geoffrey’s face. He 
had never seen Vera hard and cold like this before. It 
was a woman and not a girl who was speaking now. 
Geoffrey resented the questions; they came as a teacher 
addresses a child. 

“I cannot tell you,” he said. ‘Tt has to do with the 
family secret.” 

“And you expect me to believe this, Geoffrey?” 

“Of course I do,” Geoffrey cried. “Did you ever know 
me tell you a lie ? And, after all the years we have been 
together, you are going to be jealous of the first woman 
who comes along ! Have I been mistaken in you, Vera ?” 

The girl’s beautiful eyes filled with tears. She had 
been sorely vexed and hurt, far more hurt than she cared 
Geoffrey to know. For it seemed to her that he had 
wilfully deceived her, that he was going to see this 
creature of whom he was secretly ashamed, that he had 
lied so that he could seek her company without suspicion 
in the minds of others. 

“If you give me your word of honor,” Vera faltered, 
“that you ” 

“No, no,” Geoffrey cried. “I merely state the facts 
and you may believe them or not as you please. Who 
Mrs. May is I decline to say. How I became acquainted 
with her I also decline to explain. Suffice it that she is 
Mrs. May, and that she has rooms at Jessop’s farm.” 

“And that is all you are going to tell me, Geoffrey?” 

“Yes, Vera. If you have lost faith in me ” 

“Oh, no, no! Don’t say such cruel things, Geoff. 
Whom have I beyond my parents and you in the whole 
world I And when I found that letter, when I knew what 
you said about Alton was — was not true ” 

She paused unable to proceed. Her little hands went 
out imploringly and Geoffrey caught them in his own. 
He drew her to his side and gazed into her eyes. 

“Darling,” he whispered, “you know that I love you?” 

“Yes, dear, it was foolish of me to doubt it.” 

“I love you now and always. I can never change. I 


io6 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


did not intend to tell you about this woman because it 
was all part of the secret. The wise man among us has 
said it, and his word is law. I am speaking of Uncle 
Ralph.’’ 

Vera nodded with a brighter glance. Had not she a 
secret in common with Ralph ? 

‘‘Say no more,” she whispered. “I am ashamed of 
myself.” 

Geoffrey kissed the quivering red lips passionately. 

“Spoken like my own, Vera,” he said. “Now I will 
give you my word of honor 

“No, no. It is not necessary, Geoff. I was foolish. 
I might have known better. Not another thought will 
I give to Mrs. Mona May.” 

Vera spoke in all sincerity. But our thoughts are 
often our masters and they were so in this case. Mona 
May was a name graven on Vera’s mind, and the time 
was coming when with fervent gratitude she blessed the 
hour when she had found that letter. 


CHAPTER XX 


A FASCINATING WOMAN 

Mrs. Jessop’s simple parlor had been transformed be- 
yond recognition. The fine Chippendale furniture had 
been brought forward; the gaudy settees and sofas had 
been covered with fine, Eastern silks and tapestries. A 
pair of old Di*esden candlesticks stood on the table, and 
under pink shades the candles cast a glamor of subdued 
light upon damask and silver and china. 

As Geoffrey was ushered in Mrs. May came forward. 
She was dressed entirely in black, her wonderfully fine 
arms and shoulders gleamed dazzling almost as the 
diamonds that were as frosty stars in the glorious night 
of her hair. One great red bloom of some flower un- 
known to Geoffrey was in her breast. As to the rest, the 
flowers were all scarlet. The effect was slightly dazzling. 

Mrs. May came forward with a smile. 

“So you have managed to elude the Philistines,” she 
said. “Ah, I guessed that you would say nothing to 
your friends about our little dinner.” 

There was an eager note in the words that conveyed 
a half question. Geoffrey smiled. 

“May I venture to suggest that the knowledge is not 
displeasing to you ?” he said. 

“Well, I admit it. In the circumstances to explain 
would have been a bore. Your people cannot call on me 
and, being old-fashioned, they might not care for you 
to come here alone. Therefore, being a man of the 
world, you told them nothing about it.” 

Geoffrey smiled, as he took the proffered cigarette. 
Had he not been warned against this woman by Ralphs 
107 


io8 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


her subtle flattery would have put him off his guard. It 
is always so sweet and soothing for a youngster to be 
taken for a man of the world. 

“You have guessed it all,” he said. “My grandfather 
is a grand seigneur. He has no toleration for anything 
that is not en regie. What an exquisite cigarette!” 

Mrs. May nodded. They were excellent cigarettes, as 
also was the liqueur she insisted upon pouring out for 
Geoffrey with her own hands. He had never tasted any- 
thing like it before. 

And the dinner when it came was a perfect little poem 
in its way. Not a flask of wine on the table that had not 
a history. Long before the meal was over Geoffrey found 
himself forgetting his caution. 

Not that Geoffrey had anything to be afraid of. He 
knew that in some way this woman was connected with 
the tragedy of his race; for all that he knew to the con- 
trary, she might be the spirit directing the tragedies. 

She was his enemy, though she smiled upon him with 
a dazzling fascination calculated to turn cooler heads 
than his. But, at any rate, she had not asked him here 
to poison him at her own table. Mrs. Mona May was 
too fine an artist for that. 

Presently Geoffrey came out of his dream to find him- 
self talking. Mrs. May seemed to be putting all the 
questions and he was giving all the answers. And yet, 
directly, she asked no questions at all. She was sym- 
pathetic and interested in the family, as she explained 
with kindness and feeling. 

“And there is that poor blind gentleman,’’ she said 
sweetly. 

Her eyes were bent over her dessert plate. She was 
peeling a peach daintily. There was just for the fraction 
of a second a ring in her voice that acted on Geoffrey 
as a cold douche does to a man whose senses are blurred 
with liquor. Some instinct told him that they were 
approaching the crux of the interview. 

“My uncle Ralph,” he said carelessly. “He is a 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 109 

mystery. He keeps himself to himself and says nothing 
to anybody. Sometimes I fancy he is a clever man, who 
despises us, and at other times I regard him as a man 
whose misfortunes have dulled his brain and that he 
strives to conceal the fact.’' 

Mrs. May smiled. But she returned to the charge 
again. But strive as she would, she could get no more 
on this head out of Geoffrey. She wanted to know who 
the man was and all about him. And she learned noth- 
ing beyond the fact that he was a poor nonentity, despised 
by his relations. Geoffrey’s open sincerity puzzled her. 
Perhaps there was nothing to learn after all. 

‘‘Strange that he did not stay away,” she murmured, 
“knowing that the family curse must overtake him.” 

Geoffrey shrugged his shoulders carelessly. 

“What can an unfortunate like that have to live for?” 
he asked. “He is broken in mind and in body and has 
no money of his own. It is just like the old fox who 
crawls to the hole to die. And we are getting used to 
the curse by this time.” 

“You have no hope, no expectation of the truth coming 
to light ?” 

It was on the tip of Geoffrey’s tongue to speak freely 
of his hopes for the future. Instead he bent his head 
over the table, saying nothing till he felt he had full con- 
trol of his voice once more. Then he spoke in the same 
hopeless tones. 

“I have become a fatalist,” he said. “Please change 
the subject.” 

Mrs. May did so discreetly and easily. And yet in 
a few moments the doings of the Ravenspurs were on 
her tongue again and, almost unconsciously, Geoffrey 
found himself talking about Marion, Mrs. May listening 
quietly. 

“I have seen the young lady,” she said. “She has a 
nice face.” 

“Marion is an angel,” Geoffrey cried. “Her face is 
perfect. You have only to look at her to see what she 


no THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


is. Nobody with a countenance like that could do wrong, 
even if she wished it. No matter who ,and what it is 
everybody comes under Marion’s sway. Men, women, 
children, dogs, all turn to her with the same implicit 
confidence.” 

‘‘Marion seems to be a warm favorite,” Mrs. May 
smiled. “And yet I rather gather that she does not hold 
first place in your affections?” 

“I am engaged to my cousin Vera,” Geoffrey ex- 
plained. “We were boy and girl lovers before Marion 
came to us. Otherwise — well, we need not go into that. 
But I never saw any one like Marion till to-night.” 

Mrs. May looked up swiftly. 

“What do you mean by that?” she asked. 

“I mean exactly what I say. In certain ways, in cer- 
tain lights, under certain conditions your face is marvel- 
ously like that of Marion.” 

As Geoffrey spoke he saw that the blood had left the 
cheek of his companion. Her face was deadly pale, so 
pale that the crimson flower in her breast seemed to 
grow vivid. There was a motion of the elbow and a 
wine glass went crashing to the floor. The woman 
stooped to raise the fragments. 

“How clumsy of me!” she said. “And why are you 
regarding me so intently? My heart is a little wrong, 
the doctors tell me — nothing serious, however. There !” 

She looked up again. She had recovered and her face 
was tinged with the red flush of health again. But her 
hands still shook. 

But Geoffrey was taking no heed. 

He had dropped the match he was about to apply to 
his cigarette and was staring out of the window. The 
blind had not been drawn; the panes were framed with 
flowers. 

And inside that dark circle there came a face, a dark 
Eastern face, with awful eyes, filled with agony and rage 
and pain. Across the dusky forehead was a cut from 
which blood streamed freely. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS in 


“You are not listening to me/’ Mrs. May cried. “What 
is the matter?” 

“The face, a face at the window,” Geoffrey gasped. 
“A horrible-looking man, not of this country at all; a 
man with a gash in his forehead. He seemed to be look- 
ing for something. When he caught sight of me he 
disappeared.” 

Mrs. May had risen and crossed to the long French 
window opening on to the lawn. Her back was towards 
Geoffrey and she seemed determined, or so he imagined, 
to keep her face concealed from him. 

“Strange,” she said, carelessly, though she was ob- 
viously disturbed. “Surely you were mistaken. Some 
trick of the brain, a freak of imagination.” 

Geoffrey laughed. Young men at his time of life, men, 
who follow healthy pursuits, are not given to trick of 
the imagination. His pulse was beating steadily; his 
skin was moist and cool. 

“I am certain of it,” he said. “What is that noise?” 

Something was calling down the garden. Long before 
this time the good people of the farm had gone to bed. 

“Shall I go and see what it is ?” Geoffrey asked. 

“No, no,” Mrs. May whispered. “Stay here, I implore 
you. I would not have had this happen for anything. 
What am I saying?” 

She passed her hand cross her face and laughed un- 
steadily. 

“There are secrets in everybody’s life and there are 
in mine,” she said. “Stay till I return. There will be 
no danger for me, I assure you.” 

She slipped out into the darkness and was gone. 
Geoffrey stooped and bent over a dark blot or two that 
lay on the stone still at the bottom of the window. 

“Blood,” he muttered, “blood beyond a doubt. It was 
no delusion of mine.” 

From outside came the swish of silken drapery. It 
was Mrs. May returning. She seemed herself again by 
this time. 


1 12 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


‘‘The danger is past/’ she said, ‘‘if danger you choose 
to call it. The next time we meet we shall laugh to- 
gether over this comedy. I assure you it is a comedy. 
And now I am going to ask you to leave me.” 

The woman was playing a part and playing it ex- 
tremely well. With less innate knowledge, Geoffrey 
would have been thoroughly deceived. As it was, he 
affected to make light of the matter. He held out his 
hand with a smile. 

“I am glad of that,” he said. “You must let me come 
again, when, perhaps, you may be disposed to allow me 
to assist you. Good-night and thank you for one of the 
pleasantest evenings of my life.” 

The door closed behind Geoffrey, and he stumbled 
along in the darkness until his eyes became accustomed 
to the gloom. Out in the road some one crept up to 
him and laid a hand on his arm. Like a flash Geoffrey 
had him by the throat. 

“Speak, or I will kill you,” he whispered. “Who are 
you ?” 

“Come with me at once,” came the hoarse reply. “And 
release that grip of my throat. I am Sergius Tchigorsky. 


CHAPTER XXI 


THE MYSTERY DEEPENS 

Geoffrey recognized the deep rasping tones of Tchigor- 
sky directly. His hand dropped to his side. No need to 
tell him that danger was in the air. It was the thick, 
still kind of night that goes with adventure. 

“Something has happened?’’ Geoffrey asked. 

“Something is going to happen unless we prevent it ?” 
Tchigorsky replied. “The enemy has been foiled three 
times lately and is getting uneasy. He begins to realize 
that he has to cope with somebody who understands the 
game. It is no use to work in this deadly mysterious 
fashion as long as certain people can read the danger 
signals and act upon them, and therefore it has been 
decided to fall back upon more vulgar methods. You 
are not afraid of danger?” 

“Not in the least. Try me.” 

“The danger is great. You are dealing with some of 
the cleverest people on earth. If you are discovered you 
will be put away. Your courage will be tested to the 
utmost. Are you ready ?” 

Geoffrey hesitated but for a moment. His senses 
seemed to be braced and strengthened. He seemed to 
hear better all at once; his eyes penetrated farther into 
the gloom. There was a feeling of eagerness, of exulta- 
tion upon him. He took Tchigorsky ’s lean claw and 
laid it upon his left wrist. 

“Feel that,” he said. “Is not my pulse steady? I am 
longing to go forward. Only give me a chance to find 
the truth.” 


114 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

Tchigorsky chuckled. This was the kind of grit he 
admired. 

“You will do,” he said. “And you will go alone on 
your expedition. You are acquainted with all the vaults 
and passages of the castle by this time; every inch of 
the ground is known to you. Give me your coat and 
shoes.” 

Geoffrey handed them over, getting a pair of rubber- 
soled shoes and a rough pea jacket in exchange. In the 
pocket of the latter he found a revolver. 

“Now what am I to do?” he demanded. 

“Stand here,” Tchigorsky explained. “Presently you 
will see a figure or two, perhaps more. You will not 
understand what they are saying, but that makes no dif- 
ference. You are to follow them, stick to them. If noth- 
ing happens by dawn you can afford to leave them to 
their own devices. If circumstances place you in dire 
peril, be brave, for help is not far off.” 

Geoffrey might have asked another question or two. 
But Tchigorsky turned away abruptly and was speedily 
lost in the darkness. And then followed for Geoffrey the 
most trying part of the business, waiting for the first 
sign of the foe. 

Half an hour passed and still no sign. Had the affair 
miscarried and the miscreants got away in some other 
direction? Strain his ears as he would, Geoffrey could 
catch nothing. Then at length something soft and rust- 
ling seemed to be creeping along on the lawn on the 
other side of the hedge. 

Geoffrey crept through the gay into the garden. Al- 
most instantly he dropped on his face, for somebody 
carrying a lantern was softly creeping in his direction. 
It was the figure of a woman, a woman who had a black 
lace shawl so wrapped about her that in the feeble light 
it was impossible to make out her features. She paused 
and made a hissing sound between her teeth. 

As if they had been evolved out of Geoffrey’s inner 
consciousness, there appeared two men upon the lawn. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVEN.SPURS 115 


One was lying on his back, his head supported on the 
arm of his companion. They were Indian natives of 
some kind, but of what race precisely Geoffrey could not 
say. The prostrate man had an ugly cut across his fore- 
head ; it was the same man that Geoffrey had seen look- 
ing through the window. 

A crafty, ugly, sinister face it was, full of cunning 
malignity. The eyes were dull, but the fires of hate were 
still in them. The woman stooped down and produced 
cool bandages soaked in some pungent liquid, which she 
proceeded to bind round the brows of the injured man. 
Even at his respectful distance Geoffrey could catch the 
odor of the bandages. 

He watched the weird midnight scene with breathless 
interest. There was something creepy about the whole 
business. If these people had nothing to conceal, all 
this surgical work might have taken place indoor; they 
might have called assistance. Geoffrey tried to catch 
sight of the woman’s features. 

But that was impossible. Still, there was something 
familiar about her. Geoffrey felt quite sure that he had 
seen that graceful figure before. She stood up presently 
and Geoffrey no longer had any doubt. 

It was Mrs. Mona May. 

The injured man rose also. He staggered along on 
the arm of his companion and Geoffrey could with some 
difficulty see them enter the sitting room. He paused 
in some doubt as to his next move, but before he was 
called upon to decide, Mrs. May and the other native 
came out again. 

Evidently they had left the injured man behind. Then 
they emerged into the road and started off rapidly to- 
ward the cliffs. 

*‘Going some way by the pace they are walking,” Geof- 
frey muttered, ‘‘and at the same time they must be back 
before daylight, or they would never have dared to leave 
that fellow at Jessop’s. What a good thing I know the 
country.” 


ii6 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


Geoffrey followed at a respectful distance, his rubber 
shoes making no sound. For the time of year the night 
was intensely dark, which was in Geoffrey’s favor. Also, 
with his close knowledge of the locality, he had no fear 
of making mistakes. 

The couple were not more than fifty yards ahead of 
him. They had not the slightest idea they were being 
followed, seeing that they were talking earnestly and 
none too quietly in a language that was Greek to Geof- 
frey. Now and again he caught the low laugh that came 
from the woman’s lips. 

By and by the cliffs were reached, and here the two 
began to descend a path that would have been dangerous 
to unaccustomed feet even in the broad daylight. But 
the man seemed to know the way perfectly and the 
woman followed without hesitation. They came presently 
to the firm sand, fringed by the ebbing tide. 

Then they turned to the right, pausing at length before 
a solid-looking expanse of cliff that stood right under 
Ravenspur Castle. One moment they loomed darkly 
against the brown rocks, the next minute they seemed 
to be swallowed up by the cliffs. They had entered the 
mouth of a cave. 

Geoffrey followed still more cautiously. On and on 
they went, until at length they paused. Then the light 
from the lantern grew stronger. From behind a ledge 
of seaweed-clad granite Geoffrey watched them furtively. 
They were waiting for something — a signal, probably — 
before going farther. 

The signal seemed to come at last, from where it was 
impossible for Geoffrey to judge, and then the advance 
was resumed. Presently they emerged into the deep 
below-tide level vault under the castle, where Geoffrey 
had seen Marion walking in her sleep. 

Mrs. May turned to her companion and gave him some 
sharp command. She had lost all her levity and Geof- 
frey could see that her dark eyes were glowing. The 
native salaamed and laid his hand upon the lantern. The 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 117 


next instant the place was plunged into pitchy darkness. 
Five, ten minutes passed, and nothing was heard but the 
lap of the ebbing tide on the shore. Then a hand was 
gently laid on Geoffrey’s arm. 


CHAPTER XXII 


DEEPER STILL 

So startled was Geoffrey that he felt the moisture spurt 
from every pore like a rash. But, fully conscious of his 
danger, he suppressed the cry that rose to his lips, nor 
did he move as he felt a thick cloak thrown over his head. 
He slipped his revolver into his hand and fumbled it 
against the cold cheek of his antagonist. 

But the antagonist took it coolly. A pair of lips were 
close to Geoffrey’s ear and the smallest, faintest voice 
spelt out the letters, T-c-h-i-g-o-r-s-k-y. Geoffrey put the 
weapon back in his pocket. At the same time he felt 
about till his fingers touched the hand of his companion. 
No doubt about it. The other was Tchigorsky beyond 
question. Perhaps he had been testing Geoffrey’s courage 
and resolution; perhaps the danger had deepened un- 
expectedly. 

Presently the light of the lantern popped up again, in 
response to some subtle signal, and once more the con- 
spirators moved on to the vault above. Tchigorsky lifted 
his head. 

‘‘Where are they going?” Geoffrey asked. 

Tchigorsky responded with one of his diabolical 
chuckles. 

“They imagine that they are going into the castle,” he 
said. “But they are not going to accomplish that part 
of the program.” 

“But what do they want there?” 

“What should they want? You know something of 
those now whose business it is to wipe you out root and 
branch. More artistic methods having failed, they may 

ii8 


,THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 119 

deem it necessary to fall back on more vulgar plans. 
There are five people sleeping in the castle — six with your 
Uncle Ralph — who stand in the way. It is possible if the 
fiends are lucky that the castle may be devoid of life by 
daybreak.” 

Geoffrey could not repress a shudder. 

‘‘Fiends, indeed!” he said. “But why not stop it? 
Why not let them enter and then take them all red- 
handed?” 

“What could we gain by that? We could not connect 
them with past crimes I At worst they would get a few 
months in gaol as suspects. When the time comes we 
must smash them all. And the time is coming.” 

Tchigorsky rose as if to go. 

“I follow them,” he said, “you remain here, in the 
darkness. And if any one attempts to pass you do not 
let him do so. Don’t forget this thing. At all hazards 
you are not to let any one pass.” 

Geoffrey nodded as Tchigorsky passed on his way. 
For a long time all was quiet, and then from above there 
came a startled cry followed by the sound of strife and 
a scream of pain and terror. It was all that Geoffrey 
could do to restrain himself from yelling in response and 
rushing to the spot. Then he became conscious that some- 
body was coming rapidly through the cave. He reached 
out his hand and grabbed at and caught a sinewy, slippery 
brown ankle. 

It only needed that touch to tell Geoffrey that he was 
at grips with the native. Down the fellow came on the 
slippery rocks, and the next instant the two were engaged 
in a life or death struggle. 

Young, strong, vigorous as he was, his muscle knitted 
like iron with healthy exercise, Geoffrey knew that he 
had met his match. The native had a slight advantage 
of him in point of years ; he was greased from head to 
foot, rendering a grip difficult, and his flying robe came 
asunder like cobwebs at the first strain. He fought with 
the abandon of a man who is reckless of life. 


120 THE MYSTERY GF THE RAVENSPURS 


Over and over on the slippery rocks they rolled, eacli 
striving to get the other by the throat. By this time they 
were both breathing thick and fast, and Geoffrey’s mind 
began to wander toward his revolver. But to release his 
grip to get that might be fatal. He could hear his an- 
tagonist gasping as he rolled off a ledge of rock, and 
then Geoffrey lifted his opponent’s head and brought it 
down with a bang on the granite.” 

In the very instant of his triumph something whistled 
behind him, and a jagged piece of stone came smashing 
on to his temple. 

He had a confused view of a native on his feet again, 
fast hurrying away, heard the rustle of garments and a 
further rustle of more garments, and then his arm was 
closed upon a female figure whom he pulled to the ground 
by his side. 

He felt the woman open her lips to scream, but he 
clapped his hand over her mouth. 

‘‘No, you don’t,” he said grimly. ‘'One of you has 
escaped and my friend the nigger has had a narrow 
escape, but I’ve got you, my lady. I’ve got you safe and 
I don’t mean to let you go.” 

He felt the slight figure in his arms tremble and pal- 
pitate ; he heard voices above. Once more the slim figure 
shivered. His hand was torn from her mouth and the 
woman spoke. 

“They are calling you,” she said ; “for God’s sake let 
me go, Geoffrey.” 

For an instant Geoffrey was too dazed and stunned to 
speak. 

“Marion?” he gasped presently. “Marion?” 

Marion cowered down, sobbing bitterly. 

“You are surprised,” she said. “No wonder. You 
wonder what I am doing here and I will tell you pres- 
ently. But not now ; I will place my secret in your hands ; 
I will disguise nothing from you. For the present 
leave me.” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 121 


“Leave you here ! Impossible !” 

“But I am safe, quite safe, Geoffrey. Oh, if you have 
any feeling for one of the most miserable creatures in 
the world, leave me. Tell them above that those aban- 
doned wretches have gone, that no sign of them remains. 
Consider what I have suffered and am suffering for your 
family, and try to help me.’' 

Conscious of his own weakness, Geoffrey pondered. 
He might be doing a serious injury to the delicate plans 
formed by Ralph Ravenspur, but he had given the 
promise and there was an end of the matter. 

Marion was in some way bound up with these people, 
but Marion was pure as the angels and Marion would do 
no wrong. Why, then, should her good name be dragged 
in the mire? 

“You are so good, so good to me,” Marion murmured. 
“Go before they become alarmed at your silence and 
leave me here. Say that you saw nothing. And when 
the house is quiet I shall make my way back again.” 

Geoffrey retired upwards without further words. In 
the basement of the castle he found Tchigorsky and 
Ralph Ravenspur. 

“They managed to elude you ?” asked the former. 

Geoffrey pointed to the ugly bruise on the side of his 
head. 

“Yes,” he said, “they both got away. But for this 
bit of an accident fighting in the dark I might have 
captured the dusky conspirator.” 

“Rather you had not, on the whole,” Ralph said. 
“Something gave them the alarm as they reached the 
passages. Of course their idea was to murder some or 
all of us in our beds, and our idea was to take them in 
the act. But they got the alarm and vanished. One of 
the fellows attacked me in the shrubbery just before dark, 
but I fancy he will not do it again.” 

“I saw him,” said Geoffrey. “He came to Mrs. May’s 
for assistance. She pretended that I was mistaken, but 


122 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


she had to give in at last when circumstances became too 
strong for her. How did you manage to deal him that 
blow on the head, uncle 

Ralph smiled grimly. 

‘T have my own means of protection,’' he said. ‘'What 
became of the fellow?” 

Geoffrey explained all that had happened during and 
after the dinner at Jessop’s farm. His two listeners 
followed his statement with flattering interest. Yet all 
the time Geoffrey was listening intently for signs of 
Marion. Was she still in the vaults or had she managed 
to slip away to her bedroom ? The thought of the delicate 
girl down there in the darkness and cold was by no means 
pleasant. 

“We have managed to make a mess of it to-night,” said 
Ralph. “How those people contrived to discover that 
there was danger afoot I can’t understand. But one thing 
is certain, they will not be content to leave things as they 
are. They may try the same thing again or their efforts 
may take a new and more ingenious direction.” 

“Which direction we shall discover,” said Tchigorsky. 
“Can you let me out here, or shall I go by the same means 
that I entered?” 

To Geoffrey’s relief Ralph volunteered to open the hall 
door for his friend. 

“Come this way,” he said. “All the bolts and bars 
have been oiled and will make no noise.” 

They slipped away quietly together. Geoffrey listened 
intently. He fancied that he could hear footsteps creep- 
ing up the stairs, and in the corridor a door softly closed. 
Then Ralph Ravenspur came back again. 

“Tchigorsky has gone,” he said. “After this it will 
be necessary for us to vary our plan of campaign a little. 
You have learned something to-night. You know now 
that our antagonists are two Indians and a woman who 
is dangerous as she is lovely and fascinating. Ah, what 
a woman she is!” 

“Who is she?” Geoffrey asked. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 123 

^‘Ah, that I cannot tell you. You must be content to 
wait. I do not want you to know too much, and then 
there is no chance of your being* taken off your guard. 
When the surprise comes it will be a dramatic one. The 
more you see of that woman and the more you cultivate 
her the more you will find to wonder at.” 

“But can I cultivate her after to-night?” 

“Why not? She does not know the extent of your 
knowledge ; she has not the remotest idea that you have 
been helping to foil her schemes. Next time she will 
meet you as if nothing had happened.” 

Geoffrey thought of Marion and was silent. That one 
so pure and sweet should be mixed up with a creature 
like that was horrible. Ralph Ravenspur rose with a 
yawn. He seemed to have lapsed into his wooden state. 
He felt his way down the big flagged hall toward the 
staircase. 

“We can do nothing more,” he said. “I am going to 
bed. Good-night.” 

The door closed and then Geoffrey was free to act. 
He could go down into the vault and bring Marion up. 
But first he would try to ascertain if she was in her room. 
He passed up the stairs and along the corridor. Outside 
Marion's door he coughed gently. 

The door opened and Marion stood there clad in a 
fair white wrap, with her glorious hair hanging free over 
her shoulders. Her eyes were full of tears. 

“Geoff,” she whispered. “Geoff, dear Geoff.” 

She fell into his arms, and pressed her lips long and 
clingingly to his. Her hole frame was quivering with 
mingled love and emotion. Then she snatched herself 
away from his embrace and, with the single whispered 
word, “To-morrow,” closed the door behind her. 


CHAPTER XXIII 


MARION EXPLAINS 

A brilliant sunshine poured into the terrace room 
where the Ravenspurs usually breakfasted. An innova- 
tion in the way of French windows led on to a tessellated 
pavement bordered with flowers on either side and •tid- 
ing in the terrace overlooking the sea. 

A fresh breeze came from the ocean; the thunder of 
the surf was subdued to a drone. In the flowers a num- 
ber of bees were busy, bees whose hives were placed 
against the side of the house. They were Vera’s bees 
and there were two hives of them. Vera attended to 
them herself ; they knew her and she was wont to declare 
that in no circumstances would they do her any harm. 
That was why, as Geoffrey dryly put it, she never got 
stung more than once a week. 

“I believe one has been arguing with you now,” Geof- 
frey laughed. 

He was standing in the window as he spoke. He and 
Vera were the first two down. The girl was on the pave- 
ment gravely contemplating the palm of her right hand. 

“No, indeed,” she said. “And, anyway, it was my 
own fault.” 

“Irish,” Geoffrey cried. “That makes the second since 
Monday. Let me see.” 

He took the little pink palm in his own brown hands. 

“I can’t see the spot,” he said. “Does it hurt much?” 

“A mere pin prick, dear. I suppose you can get 
innoculated against that sort of thing. I mean that you 
can be stung and stung until it has no effect at all.” 

“Even by bees that know you and never do you any 
124 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 125 

harm/’ Geoffrey laughed. ‘‘But I dare say you are right. 
Five years ago when we had that plague of wasps Sten- 
more, the keeper, and myself destroyed over a hundred 
wasps’ nests in one season. I must have been stung nearly 
a thousand times. After the first score I never noticed 
it ; was not so bad as the touch of a nettle.” 

“What ! Has Vera been arguing with the bees again ?” 

The question came fresh and clear from behind the 
hives. Marion stood there, making a fair picture indeed 
in her white cotton dress. There was no shade of trouble 
in her eyes. She met Geoffrey’s glance squarely. ' 

Her hand rested on his shoulder with a palpably tender 
squeeze. 

It was the only kind of allusion she made to last night’s 
doings. She might not have had a single care or sorrow 
in the world. She seemed to take almost a childlike in- 
terest in the bees, the simple interest of one who has yet 
to be awakened to the knowledge of a conscience. Geof- 
frey had never admired Marion more than he did at this 
moment. 

“Marion is afraid of my bees,” Vera said. 

Marion drew away shuddering from one of the velvety 
brown insects. 

“I admit it,” she said. “They get on one’s clothes and 
sting for pure mischief. And I am a sight after a bee 
has been operating upon me. If I had my own way, 
there would be a fire here some day and then there would 
be no more bees.” 

They trooped into breakfast, disputing the point cheer- 
fully. It was impossible to be downcast on so perfect 
a morning. Even the elders had discarded their gloom. 
Ralph Ravenspur mildly astonished everybody by relating 
an Eastern experience apropos of bees. 

“But they were not like these,” he concluded. “They 
were big black bees and their honey is poisonous. It 
is gathered from noxious swamp flowers and, of course, 
is only intended for their own food. Even those 
bees ” 


126 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

The speaker paused, as if conscious that he was talk- 
ing too much. He proceeded with his breakfast slowly. 

“Go on,'’ said Marion. “I am interested.” 

“I was going to say,” Ralph remarked in his croaking 
voice, “that even those bees know how to protect 
themselves.” 

It was a lame conclusion and Marion said so. Geof- 
frey glanced at his uncle. As plainly as possible he read 
on the latter’s face a desire to change the conversation. 

It was sufficiently easy to turn the talk into another 
channel, and during the rest of the meal not another word 
came from Ralph Ravenspur. Once more he was watch- 
ing, watching for something with his sightless eyes. 

And Geoffrey was watching Marion most of the time. 
She was gentle and gay and sweet as ever, as if strong 
emotions and herself had always been strangers. It 
seemed hard to recall the stirring events of the night 
before and believe that this was the same girl. How 
wonderfully she bore up for the sake of others; how 
bravely she crushed her almost overwhelming sorrow. 

She stood chatting on the pavement after breakfast. 
She was prattling gayly to Geoffrey, as the other grad- 
ually vanished on some mission or another. Then her 
face suddenly changed ; her grasp on Geoffrey’s arm was 
almost convulsive. 

“Now then,” she whispered. “Let us get it over.” 

Geoffrey strolled by her side along the terrace. They 
came at length to a spot where they could not be seen 
from the house. Marion turned almost defiantly. 

“Now I am going to speak,” she whispered. 

“Not if it gives you any pain,” said Geoffrey. 

“My dear Geoffrey, you don’t want to hear my 
explanation !” 

“Not if it causes you the least pain or annoyance. I 
couldn’t do it.” 

Marion laughed. But there was little of the music of 
mirth in her voice. 

“Never be it said again that man is a curious crea- 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 127 


ture/’ she said. “You find me down in the vaults of the 
castle at midnight mixed up with murderers and worse; 
you compel me to disclose my identity and take me pris- 
oner ; you force me to plead for mercy and silence. And 
now you calmly say you don’t want to know anything 
about it ! Geoffrey, are you indifferent to myself and my 
future that you speak like this?” 

Geoffrey laid his hand on the speaker’s arm tenderly. 

“Marion,” he said, “it is because I think so highly of 
you and trust you so implicitly that I am going to ask 
no questions. Can you be any the worse because you 
are bound by some tie to that woman yonder ? Certainly 
not. Rest assured that your secret is safe in my hands.” 

“But I must tell you certain things, Geoff. There 
is some one who comes to the castle, a friend of Uncle 
Ralph’s, who is an enemy of this — of Mrs. May’s. I 
don’t know whether you know the man — his name is 
Tchigorsky ?” 

No muscle of Geoffrey’s face moved. 

“I fancy I have heard the name,” he said. “When 
does he come here?” 

*T — I don’t know. Secretly and at night, I expect. 
Oh, if I could only tell you everything! But I cannot, 
I dare not. If this Mr. Tchigorsky would only go away! 
I fear that his presence here will eventually endanger 
Uncle Ralph’s life. You may, perhaps, give him a hint 
to that effect. Between Mrs. May and Tchigorsky there 
is a blood feud. It has been imported from Tibet. I 
can’t say any more.” 

“And you interferred to save the life of others?” 

“Yes, yes. Some day you may know everything, but 
not yet. I am endangering my own safety, but I cannot 
sit down and see crime committed under my very eyes. 
It is all a question of an ancient secret society and a secret 
religion as old as the world. Tchigorsky has certain 
knowledge he has no right to possess. Don’t press me, 
Geoff.” 

“My dear girl, I am not pressing you at all.” 


128 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

‘‘No, no. You are very good, dear old boy. Only get 
Tchigorsky out of the way. It will be better for us all 
if you do.” 

Geoffrey murmured something to the effect that he 
would do his best. At the same time, he was profoundly 
mystified. All he could grasp was that Marion was 
bound up with Mrs. May in ties of blood, the blood of 
ancient Tibet. 

“Til do my best,” he said, “though I fear that my best 
will be bad. Tell me, do you ever see this Mrs. May by 
any chance ?” 

“Oh ! no, no ! I couldn’t do that. No, I can’t see her.” 

Geoffrey began to talk about something else. When 
at length he and Marion parted she was sweet and smil- 
ing again, as if she hadn’t a single trouble in the world. 

For a long time Geoffrey lounged over the balcony 
with a cigarette, trying to get to the bottom of the busi- 
ness. The more he thought over it, the more it puzzled 
him. And how could he broach the matter of Tchigorsky 
without betraying Marion ? 

Ralph Ravenspur was in his room smoking and gazing 
into space. As Geoffrey entered he motioned him into a 
chair. He seemed to be expected. 

“Well?” Ralph said. “You have something to say 
to me. You look surprised, but I know more than you 
imagine. So Tchigorsky is in danger, eh? Well, he has 
been in danger ever since he and I took this black busi- 
ness on. We are all in danger for that matter. Marion 
does not know what to do.” 

“Uncle, you know there is some tie between Marion 
and Mrs. May.” 

“Certainly I do. It is the crux of the situation. And 
Marion is to be our dea ex machina, the innocent goddess 
in the car to solve the mystery. But I am not going to 
tell you what that relationship is.” 

“Marion hates and loathes the woman, and fears her.” 

“Fears her! That is a mild way of putting it. Never 
mind how, I know what Marion was talking to you 


,THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 129 


about on the terrace. Suffice it that I do know. So last 
nighf s danger was not ours, but Tchigorsky’s.’* 

^‘So Marion said, uncle.’" 

“Well, she was right. Tell her that Tchigorsky is 
profoundly impressed and that he is going away ; in fact, 
has gone away. Tchigorsky is never going to be seen 
at Ravenspur Castle any more. Are you, Tchigorsky?” 

At the question the inner door opened and a figure 
stepped out. It was one of the natives that Geoffrey had 
seen in the hollow of the cliffs that eventful day. He 
could have sworn to the man anywhere — his stealthy 
glance, his shifty eye, his base humility. 

“Tchigorsky has disappeared?” Ralph demanded. 

The man bowed low, then he raised his head and, to 
Geoffrey’s vast surprise, gravely and solemnly winked 
at him. 

“Never mind,” he said. “How’s this for a disguise. 
Master Geoffrey?” 

It was Tchigorsky himself. 



CHAPTER XXIV 


MARION^S DOUBLE 

Geoffrey was lying perdu among the gorse on the cliff 
uplands. He had a field glass and a rook rifle by his side, 
for he was waiting for a rabbit. Also he had stolen out 
here to think over the many matters that puzzled him. 

He was slightly disturbed and, on the whole, not alto- 
gether well pleased. Why had his uncle and the mys- 
terious Tchigorsky taken him so far into their confidence 
and then failed him at the critical moment? He was 
prepared to take his share of the danger ; indeed he had 
already done so and had proved his steel. 

And was not Marion equally mysterious? True, he 
might have got more out of her, but had refrained from 
motives of delicacy. Perhaps, after all, his elders knew 
best. A word slipped, a suspicious glance, might spoil 
everything. 

Then Geoffrey looked up suddenly. Some two hun- 
dred yards away he saw a rabbit lopping along in his 
direction. At the same instant two figures came along 
the cliff. They were ladies and the sight of them aston- 
ished Geoffrey, for it was not usual to see anything more 
modern than a shepherd or a dog at this wild spot. 

The figures paused. They were picked out clear 
against the sky line as Geoffrey lay there. He recog- 
nized one of them. Surely the tall lady, with the easy, 
swinging carriage and supple grace, could be none other 
than Mrs. May. 

Geoffrey arranged his glasses. They were powerful 
binoculars, and through them he could see Mrs. May's 

130 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 131 

features quite plainly. He looked through them again 
long and earnestly. And her companion was Marion! 

Just for an instant Geoffrey doubted the evidence of 
his senses. He wiped the glasses with his handkerchief 
and looked through them long and earnestly. No doubt 
could any longer be entertained. 

It was Marion — Marion who had declared that she 
had never spoken to the woman — Marion, who hated the 
sight of her. And here she was, walking along with Mrs. 
May as if they were something more than friends. 

Yes, it was Marion beyond a doubt. She had dis- 
carded her white dress for one of blue; her sailor hat 
was replaced by a red tam-o’-shanter. All the same, it 
was not possible to mistake the graceful figure. Even 
without the glasses Geoffrey would have been prepared 
to swear to her. 

He lay low under the bushes. The two were coming 
in his direction. Geoffrey did not want to listen, but 
something forced him there, some power he could not 
resist. Nearer and nearer they came, until Geoffrey 
could hear Mrs. May’s voice. 

‘‘That is impossible, my dear Zazel,” she said. “But 
you are safe.” 

“I am not so sure of that,” was the reply. “And I’m 
only a pawn in the game.” 

It was Marion’s voice ; the same, yet not the same. It 
was a hoarse, strained voice, like the voice of a man who 
smokes to excess. Certainly Geoffrey was not prepared 
to swear to those as the tones of Marion. 

“Absurd, Zazel. Of course you know that we are all 
in it together. And look at the glorious reward when 
our task is over. We must succeed ultimately, there is 
no doubt about that in spite of Tchigorsky. It is only 
a question of time. Am I to believe that you are not 
going to be true to your oath ?” 

“I shall not forget my oath. Can the leopard change 
his spots? But I am getting so tired of it all. I should 
like to end it at one swoop. If you can do that ” 


132 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


'T have just shown you how it is possible.” 

“There is sense in that suggestion. And it is so artistic. 

It would be quoted in the scientific papers and various 
ingenious theories would be put forth. But some might 
escape.” 

“One, or two perhaps at the outside. Let them. No- 
body could suspect us over that. And I have the bees 
safely in my possession.” 

Geoffrey heard no more. The figures passed by him 
and then repassed in the direction whence they came. 

No sooner were they out of sight than Geoffrey rose 
to his feet. He felt that he must ascertain at once whether 
that girl was Marion or not. The face was hers, the 
figure hers, but that voice — never! 

He would find out, he would know, he would 

Then he paused. He came over the knoll of the ir- 
regular cliff and there strolling towards him in her white 
dress and straw hat was Marion. She was gathering 
gorse and did not see him until he was close upon her. 
The pause gave Geoffrey time to recover from his abso- 
lute amazement. 

So that creature had not been Marion after all. A deep • 
sigh of thankfulness rose to his lips. The sense of relief 
was almost painful. 

By the time that Marion became conscious of his pres- 
ence he had recovered his presence of mind. Marion 
plainly could know nothing about her double and he was 
not going to tell her. 

“I heard you were here, Geoff,” she said. “Jessop 
told me so just now. Are you going home?” Geoffrey 
nodded; he had no words for the present. “It is so 
lovely,” Marion went on. “I am quite proud of my 
courage in coming alone. Do you see anything else 
here ?” 

“Nothing but rabbits,” Geoffrey replied, “and few of 
them to-day. You are the only human being I have seen 
since I started.” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 133 

Then they walked home chattering gayly together. 
Geoffrey felt his suspicions falling away from him one 
by one; indeed he was feeling somewhat ashamed of 
himself. To doubt Marion on any ground was ridiculous ; 
to doubt the evidence of his own senses was more absurd 
still. Thank God he had met Marion. 

All the same there were things to tell Ralph Ravenspur. 
He, at any rate, must know all that had been heard that 
morning. Ralph was seated in his room with his ever- 
lasting pipe in his mouth, much as if he had not moved 
since breakfast. 

‘T have news for you, uncle,” Geoffrey said as he en- 
tered the room. 

‘‘Of course you have, my boy. I knew that directly 
I heard your step on the stair. I hope you have stumbled 
on something of importance.” 

“Well, that is for you to say. I saw Mrs. May. She 
came quite close to me on the cliffs. She had a com- 
panion. When I looked through my glasses I saw it was 
Marion.” 

Ralph did not start. He merely smiled. 

“Not our Marion,” he said. “Not our dear little girl.” 

“Of course not. Singular that you should have our 
love of and faith in Marion when you have never seen 
her. I had my glasses and I could have sworn it was 
Marion. Then they came close enough for me to hear 
them speak, and I knew that I was mistaken. It was not 
Marion’s voice. -Besides, I met the real Marion a few 
minutes later dressed in her white dress and hat.” 

“So that is settled. What did the other girl wear?” 

“A loose blue dress. A serge, I should say.” 

“And her hat ?” 

“A Scottish thing — what they call a tam-o’-shanter.” 

“So that acquits our Marion. She couldn’t be in two 
places at once ; she couldn’t even wear two dresses at the 
same time. And our Marion’s voice is the music of the 
sphere — the sweetest in the whole world. But the face 
was the same.” 


134 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 

“The likeness was paralyzing. What do you make of 
it, uncle?’' 

Ralph smiled dryly. 

“I make a good deal of it,” he replied. “Let us not 
jump to conclusions, however. Did you hear anything 
they were saying ?” 

“Of course I did. Mrs. May was urging her com- 
panion to do something. She was pointing out how rich 
the reward would be. It was something, I fancy, that 
had a deal to do with us.” 

“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Ralph said grimly. “Go on.” 

“Something artistic that would be commented on in 
the scientific papers, a thing that would not lead to 
suspicion.” 

“Yes, yes. Did you manage to get a clue to what it 
was?” 

“I’m afraid not. Mrs. May made one remark that was 
an enigma to me. She said that she had the bees safely 
in her possession.” 

A queer sound same from Ralph’s lips ; his face glared 
with a strange light. 

“You have done well,” he said. “Oh, you have done 
well indeed.” 

And for the time not another word would he utter. 


CHAPTER XXV 


GEOFFREY IS PUZZLED 

It was a long time before Ralph Ravenspur spoke 
again. He remained so quiet that Geoffrey began to 
imagine that his existence had been forgotten. He ven- 
tured to lay a hand on his uncle’s knee. 

The latter started like one who sleeps uneasily under 
the weight of a haunting fear. 

^‘Oh, of course/’ he said. ‘T had forgotten you ; I had 
forgotten everything. And yet you brought me news 
of the greatest importance.” 

“Indeed, uncle. What was it?” 

“That you shall know speedily. The danger had not 
occurred to me for the moment. And yet all the time 
it has been under my nose.” 

“Still, you might easily be forgiven for not seeing ” 

“Seeing has nothing to do with it. And there is noth- 
ing the matter with my hearing. The danger has been 
humming in my ears for days and I never heard it. Now 
it is roaring like Niagara. But, please God, we shall 
avert the danger.” 

“You might take me into your confidence, in this mat- 
ter, uncle.” 

“That I shall before a day has passed, but not for the 
moment. We are face to face now with the most danger- 
ous crisis that has yet occurred. The enemy can strike 
us down one by one, and nobody shall dream that there 
is anything beyond a series of painfully sudden deaths. 
Failure of the heart’s action the doctors would call it. 
That is all.” 

At that moment Tchigorsky returned to the room. No 

135 


136 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


longer was he in the disguise of an Indian. Perhaps he 
had donned it to surprise Geoffrey; perhaps he was just 
discarding the disguise after putting it to some practical 
use. To him Ralph repeated all that Geoffrey had said. 

He followed with the most rapt and most careful 
attention. 

‘‘Danger, indeed,” he said gravely, “the danger that 
moves unseen on the air, and strikes from out of noth- 
ingness. I prophesied something like this, Ralph.” 

“Ay, my friend,” Ralph replied, “you did. But not 
quite the same way.” 

“Because I did not know that fortune had placed the 
medium so close at hand. Where are the bees ?” 

Geoffrey was listening intently. Up to now he had 
failed to understand why his story had moved Ralph so 
profoundly. And what could the bees have to do with 
it? Yet Mrs. May had mentioned bees. 

“They are in two hives outside the morning-room 
window,” said Ralph. “The bees are Vera’s pets, and 
they thrive for the most part along the flower borders 
of the terrace. They are ordinary bees.” 

“In the ordinary bar-frame hives of course ?” 

“Oh, yes, they are quite up to date. You can see the 
insects working and all that kind of thing. The hives 
can be moved.” 

“I suppose they are a nuisance occasionally?” Tchigor- 
sky asked. 

“Yes,” Geoffrey smiled. “We have all been stung 
now and again.” 

Tchigorsky appeared to be satisfied on that head. He 
smoked a whole cigarette while he revolved a plan in 
his mind. 

“It is necessary to get the whole family out of the way 
for a time,” he said slowly. “It will be necessary to do 
so without delay. Unless I am greatly mistaken, the 
mischief has already been done. Ralph, can you induce 
your father and the whole family to go away for a time — ■ 
say till after dark?” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 137 


“Perhaps,” Ralph replied. “But not without explain- 
ing, and it is impossible to do that. But Geoffrey might 
manage it. Unless he does manage it one or more of 
us will pay the penalty before daybreak.” 

“I will do anything you desire,” Geoffrey cried 
eagerly. 

“Then go to your grandfather and get him to arrange 
a picnic over to Alton Keep. It is a perfect day, and it 
will be possible to remain out till dark, returning to a 
late supper. I know the suggestion sounds absurd — 
childish in the circumstances — but it will have to be done. 
Say that there is a great danger in the castle which has 
to be removed. Say that nobody is to know anything 
about it. Go.” 

Geoffrey went at once. He found the head of the 
family in the library trying to interest himself in a book. 
He looked up as Geoffrey entered, and a slight smile 
came over his worn face. There were two people in the 
house who could do anything with him — Geoffrey and 
Vera. 

“You look as if you wanted something,” he said. 

“I do,” Geoffrey replied. “I want you to do me a 
great favor.” 

“It is granted — granted on the principle that we make 
the last hours of the condemned criminal as comfortable 
as possible.” 

“Then I want you to get up a picnic to-day.” 

Rupert Ravenspur dropped his glasses on the table. 
He wondered if this was some new kind of danger, a 
mysterious form of insanity, brought about by the 
common enemy. 

“I am perfectly serious,” Geoffrey said, with a smile. 
“Not that it is any laughing matter. Dear grandfather, 
there is a great danger in the house. I don’t know what 
it is, but Uncle Ralph knows, and he has never been 
^Vrong yet. It was he who found out all about those 
dreadful flowers. And he wants the house cleared till 


138 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


dark. Unless we do so, the morning will assuredly see 
the end of one or more of us.” 

“Is it a painless death?” the old man asked grimly. 
“If it is, I prefer to remain here.” 

“But there is always hope,” Geoffrey pleaded. “And 
you always thinks of us. Won’t you do this thing? 
Won’t you say that it is a sudden whim of yours? Mind, 
everybody is to go, everybody but Uncle Ralph. I shall 
ride and when I have ridden some distance I shall pre- 
tend to have forgotten something. Perhaps you deem 
me unduly foolish. But I implore you to do this thing.” 

Rupert Ravenspur hesitated no longer. He always 
found it hard to resist that young smiling handsome face. 
Not that he was blind to the folly of the proceedings. 
On his own initiative he would as soon have danced a 
hornpipe in the hall. 

“I will go and see about it at once,” he said. 

He had put off his somber air, and assumed a kind of 
ill-fitting gayety. Gordon Ravenspur and his wife re- 
ceived the suggestion with becoming resignation. To 
them it was the first signs of a mind breaking down 
under an intolerable strain. Vera and Marion professed 
themselves to be delighted. 

“It sounds odd,” said the latter. “Fancy the doomed 
and fated Ravenspurs going on a picnic ! And fancy the 
suggestion, too, coming from grandfather!” 

Vera looked anxious. 

“You don’t imagine,” she said, “that his mind ” 

^‘Oh, his mind is all right. You can see that from 
his face. But I expect that the strain is telling on him, 
and that he wants to get out of himself for a time. Per- 
sonally, I regard the idea as charming.” 

The preparations were made, no great matter in so 
large and well-regulated an establishment as Ravenspur 
Castle. If the servants were astonished, they said noth- 
ing. The stolid coachman sat solemnly on the box of the 
wagonette; the demure footman touched his hat as he 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 139 

put up the step with the air of a man who is accustomed 
to do this sort of thing every day. 

Geoffrey stood under the big portico and waved his 
hand. 

“You should drive with us,” Marion cried. 

“And you won’t be long?” Vera asked. 

“Oh, I am duly impressed with the importance of the 
occasion,” Geoffrey laughed. “My horse will get there 
almost as soon as you arrive. Call the spaniel.” 

Tut, the pet spaniel, was called, but no response was 
made, and finally the party drove off without him. Geof- 
frey watched the wagonette with a strange sense of un- 
reality upon him. He felt that he could have scoffed at a 
situation like this in the pages of a novel. And yet it 
is the truth that is always so improbable. 

Our most solemn and most trivial thoughts always run 
along the grooves of the mind together, and as Geoffrey 
passed round the house he caught himself wondering 
where the dog was. He whistled again and again. It 
was a most unusual thing for Tut to be far from the 
family. Outside the morning room window the dog lay 
as if fast asleep. 

“Get up, your lazy beast,” Geoffrey cried; “after 
them, sir.” 

But the dog did not move; he made no sign as Geof- 
frey cuffed him with the side of his foot. The dog was 
dead. 

He lay still and placid; there was no sign of pain. 
There was nothing about the carcass to suggest poison. 
Close by the bees were busy among the flowers. In the 
hives there seemed to be more noise than usual. Geof- 
frey opened the windows of the morning-room, leaving 
the casement flung back behind him. A long claw was 
put forth to shut it. 

“The window must be kept closed,” Ralph Ravenspur 
said quietly. “In fact, I have given orders that every 
window in the house is to be closed. Why, you will see 
presently. Did you notice anything as you came along?” 


140 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


‘T was too excited,” Geoffrey replied. ‘T have just 
found poor Tut outside. The dog has died suddenly. 
Half an hour ago he was perfecty well, young, full of 
life and vigor. And now he is dead.” 

‘'Lies just outside the window, doesn’t he?” Ralph 
asked. 

He seemed to speak callously. A man who had passed 
through his experiences and emotions was not likely to 
feel for the loss of a dog. And yet there was intense 
curiosity in his tone. 

“Just outside; close to the hives.” 

“Ah, yes. He was poisoned, you think ?” 

“I expect so. And yet where could he get the poison ? 
Nobody comes here. Perhaps it was not poison after all.” 

A thin smile flickered on Ralph’s face. 

“Yes, it was,” he said; “the dog was poisoned by a 
bee sting.” 


CHAPTER XXVI 


GEOFFREY BEGINS TO UNDERSTAND 

Geoffrey had no words for a time. Slowly the hideous- 
ness of the plot was beginning to beat in upon him. Mrs. 
May had mentioned bees to her mysterious companion, 
who had so remarkable a likeness to Marion, and by a 
strange chance Ralph Ravenspur had the same morning, 
at breakfast, mentioned a certain Asiatic bee, whose 
poison and whose honey were fatal to human life. 

“Ah,’' said Geoffrey slowly, “the bees Mrs. May men- 
tioned.” 

“Precisely, my boy. And the bees that I mentioned 
also. Tchigorsky found the dog but a minute or two 
ago. He slipped downstairs with me the minute we 
heard the wagonette drive away. He was very anxious 
to see the hives. Directly he caught sight of Tut lying 
there he knew what had happened. He has gone to my 
room for something. When he comes back he will have 
something to show you.” 

Tchigorsky entered the room a moment later. He had 
in his hand a small cardboard box wjth a glass lid. In- 
side something was buzzing angrily. It was ah insect, 
the wings of which moved so rapidly that they seemed to 
scream, as a house fly does when the falces of a spider 
close upon him. 

“Have a good look at it,” Tchigorsky said curtly. 

“Is it dangerous ?” Geoffrey asked. 

“One of the most deadly of winged insects,” the 
Russian said. “It is a black bee from the forests near 
Lassa. There is a larger variety, whose sting produces 
the most horrible sufferings and death. This sort injects 

141 


142 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


a poison which stops the action of the heart like prussic 
acid, but without the rigidity caused by that poison. The 
Lassa black bee invades other bees’ nests and preys on 
their honey. They frighten the other bees, which make 
no attempt to drive them out, but go on working as usual. 
Then gradually the whole hive gets impregnated with 
that poison, and an ordinary brown bee becomes as 
dangerous as a black one. This is the bee that killed 
your dog.” 

‘‘Then the hives are already impregnated,” Geoffrey 
cried. 

“Precisely. Half a dozen of these black bees have 
been introduced into the hives. Now, do you begin to 
understand the malignity of the plot? Your dog was 
not dead when, with my net, I caught this fellow — I 
expected to catch him.” 

“And ran great risk in doing so.” 

“Of course. It was a recreation compared with some 
of the risks I have run.” 

“You are right there,” Ralph said in his deep, croak- 
ing tones. “Look at the thing, Geoffrey.” 

With a shudder Geoffrey took the box in his hand. 
There was nothing formidable about the insect under 
the glass lid. It had more anger and fury, more “devil” 
than the ordinary bee, but it was very little larger, of a 
deep, dustrous black, with orange eyes and purple gauzy 
wings. There was nothing weird about it. 

“Was it imported for the purpose?” Geoffrey asked. 

“Undoubtedly,” Ralph replied. “Imported by the 
woman who calls herself Mrs. May. Before she came 
over to England she must have had this house described 
to her with the greatest minuteness. Otherwise she could 
not have so many instruments ready to her hand; she 
would never have thought of these bees, for instance. 

“If this scheme had not been discovered everybody in 
the house would have been stung before long, and every 
one assuredly would have died. Those black bees are 
exceedingly fierce, and do not hesitate to attack everybody 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 143 

and everything. Their sting is so sharp and so minute 
that it leaves no mark and no pain. Half an hour passes, 
and then the victim falls down and dies.” 

Geoffrey regarded the specimen with new interest. He 
eyed it up and down as if examining a cobra through the 
glass sides of its prison house. Tchigorsky took the box 
and flattened the lid down until the insect within was no 
more than a red smash on the glass. A little later and 
the thing was pitched over the cliffs into the sea. 

‘Tt is a dreadful business,” Geoffrey said. “And, in- 
deed, it seems almost hopeless to try to combat foes so 
ruthless, so resourceful, and so daring as ours. No sooner 
are we out of one horror than we are into another.” 

“While life lasts there is alv/ays hope,” said Tchigor- 
sky. 

“That’s true,” said Geoffrey, more cheerfully. “At any 
rate we can avert the danger now. But how are we going 
to get rid of those things ?” 

“We are going to catch them,” said Tchigorsky grimly. 
“We shall have to destroy all the other bees, I am afraid, 
and we shall be compelled to let Miss Vera draw her own 
conclusions as to the cause of the mischief.” 

“And the honey, Mr. Tchigorsky?” 

“Oh, the honey will be all right. That hasn’t been 
stung, you know. I have tasted honey from a nest which 
the black bees have invaded, and have been none the 
worse for it. We had better surmise that for some in- 
scrutable reason the bees have deserted their quarters. 
And we shall propose to know nothing at all about the 
matter. I flatter myself we shall puzzle the enemy as 
completely as our friends.” 

The matter was discussed in all its bearings until the 
light began to fail and the glow faded gradually from 
out of the sky. 

Then, after locking the inner door of the morning 
room, Ralph produced two large gauze frames, some 
matches, and powdered sulphur. This, with a small bel- 
lows, completed the stock in trade. 


144 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


Tchigorsky immediately set about his task in a work- 
manlike manner. The bees were all in the two hives by 
this time. Over the hole in front of each a square of 
muslin was fastened, a pile of sulphur in front was 
lighted, and the fumes were gently wafted into the hole 
with the aid of the pair of miniature bellows. 

There was an angry murmur from within, the mur- 
mur of droning insects, then the quick scream of churn- 
ing wings. The little strip of muslin was strained by 
alarmed and infuriated bees striving to escape. But not 
for long. Gradually the noise died down, and Tchigorsky 
signed to Geoffrey to help him carry the hive into the 
house. 

There it was deposited on a table and the top lifted 
off. Instantly the gauze frame was placed over it, and 
was a brush Tchigorsky swept out the stagnant insects 
into a glass-topped box provided for the purpose. On 
the whole, there was not much danger, but it was just 
as well to be on the safe side. 

‘‘Not one left,” said Tchigorsky, after he had made 
a careful investigation. “But it’s quite as well to be cer- 
tain. Fve put those insects into the box, but I don’t fancy 
that any of them will revive. Now for the other one.” 

The other hive was treated in similar fashion. There 
was no hitch and finally the frame was replaced as if 
nothing had happened, with the exception that the tiny 
occupants were no more. In the glass boxes, among the 
piles of dead bees, Geoffrey could see here and there the 
form of a black insect. From his coat pocket Tchigorsky 
produced some long, thin strips of lead, which he pro- 
ceeded to wind round the boxes containing the bees. 

“There,” he exclaimed, “that job is done at last, and 
a nasty one it has been. To prevent any further mischief 
I’ll just step across the terrace and throw these over into 
the sea. He moved off into the darkness, and a» he did 
so there came the sound of a fresh young voice that 
startled Geoffrey and Ralph as if they had been criminals 
caught red-handed in some crime. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 145 

“Geoffrey, Geoffrey, where are you?’" the voice cried. 

Ralph stepped across and closed the window as Vera 
entered. It was quite dark outside, and Ralph hoped that 
Tchigorsky would see without being seen. Vera flashed 
a look of gentle reproach at her lover. 

“How can you look me in the face after the way in 
which you have treated me?” she asked. “This is the 
first day’s pleasure we have had for years, and you ” 

“Did not care to leave Uncle Ralph,” Geoffrey said. 
“He seemed so lonely that I felt I could not let him re- 
main like this.” 

“Geoffrey is a good fellow,” Ralph muttered. 

Vera bent and kissed Geoffrey fondly. She smiled 
without any show of anger. 

“I forgive him,” she said. “Still, I did miss him. 
Where are you going, dear?” 

“Across the terrace,” Geoffrey replied. “I’ll be in to 
supper directly. It’s all ready, and there is Marion call- 
ing you. I’m coming.” 

Tchigorsky had crept to the window. He caught Geof- 
frey’s eye and waved to him vigorously. It was a sign 
that he wanted assistance at once. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


AN UNEXPECTED GUEST 

Geoffrey gave one glance at Ralph before he went. 
The latter nodded slightly and sharply, much as if he 
saw the look and perfectly comprehended it. Vera had 
disappeared at Marion’s call. In the dining room beyond 
the servants were getting supper. From the distance 
came the pop of a cork. 

Outside it was dark by this time. Geoffrey closed the 
window. He did not speak, but waited for Tchigorsky 
to give the sign. His feet touched something that gave 
out a faint metallic twang. 

Geoffrey wondered. Did this mean burglars ! He was 
certainly near to a wire which was stretched across the 
terrace, close to the ground. It was precisely the pre- 
caution taken by modern burglars to baffle capture in 
case of being disturbed during their predatory proceed- 
ings. 

But burglars would not come to Ravenspur. A 
minute’s reflection convinced Geoffrey of that. The name 
and horror of the house were known all over England. 
Everybody knew of the watch and ward kept there, and 
no burglar in his senses would risk what amounted to 
almost certain capture. 

No, something far different was going on. And that 
something had been sprung hastily, for half an hour be- 
fore these wires had not been there. Geoffrey waited 
with comfortable assurance that Tchigorsky was not 
far off. 

A stealthy footstep crept toward him; a shadow 
crossed the gloom. 

146 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 147 

'Ts that you, Tchigorsky?” Geoffrey whispered. 

“Yes/’ came the reply. “There are hawks about. 
Listen.” 

A little way down the terrace something was moving. 
Geoffrey could hear what sounded to him like labored 
breathing, followed by a stifled cry of pain. 

“The one hawk is wounded and the other has sheered 
off,” said Tchigorsky. 

“It sounds like a woman,” said Geoffrey. 

“It is a woman, my dear boy. And such a woman! 
Beautiful as the angels, fair as a summer’s night. Clever I 
No words can paint her talents. And she is in the toils. 
She cries, but nobody heeds.” 

Again came the cry of pain. There was a flash and 
a spurt of flame as Tchigorsky struck a match and pro- 
ceeded to light a lantern. He picked his way over the 
entanglement of wires; Geoffrey followed him. 

“Who laid this labyrinth?” Geoffrey asked. 

“Oh, a good and true assistant of ours, an old servant 
of your uncle’s. We have more than one assistant, and 
Elphick is invaluable. We laid the trap for the bird, and 
she has broken her wing in it. Pity she had not broken 
her neck.” 

Geoffrey did not echo the last ferocious sentiment. He 
was aflame with curiosity. A little farther off in the dim 
path shown by the lantern’s flare something dark lay 
huddled on the ground. There was a flash of white here 
and there, the shimmer and rustle of silken garments. 

It might have been Geoffrey’s fancy, but he seemed to 
hear a hurried whisper of voices, and saw something rise 
from the ground and hurry away. But the black and 
white heap remained. Tchigorsky flashed his lantern 
upon it. Geoffrey could just see that there was a strange 
malignant grin upon his face. 

“A lady,” he cried in affected astonishment. “Raven- 
spur, here is a lady! Madame permit me to tender you 
our assistance. You are in pain.” 

A white, defiant face looked up — a beautiful face dis- 


148 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

figured for the moment by evil passions. There was mur- 
der in the eyes. The woman seemed to have no con- 
sciousness of any one but Tchigorsky. 

‘Tt is you/’ she hissed. ^^Tou jours Tchigorsky.” 

“Yes, it is 1. But I have unfortunately forgotten your 
name. Strange that one should do so in the case of one 
so lovely and distinguished. You are ” 

“Mrs. May. Mrs. Mona May.” 

She had caught sight of Geoffrey now and a smile 
came, forced to her lips. 

“Mrs. Mona May,” said Tchigorsky. He spoke in the 
same slightly mocking strain. “Mrs. Mona May. How 
stupid of me to forget. And yet in my muddled brain 
the name was so different. 

Geoffrey bent over the woman anxiously. 

“You are in pain,” he said. “May I assist you?” 

“Indeed, it is very kind of you, Mr. Ravenspur,” Mrs. 
May replied. “I tripped over something. I have hurt 
my ankle.” 

“Barbed wire,” said .Tchigor sky. Laid down to trap 
— er — burglars.” 

“But on no other occasion ” 

Mrs. May paused and bit her lips. Tchigorsky smiled. 
He understood what she was going to say. On no other 
occasion when she had been here had she encountered 
a similar obstacle. 

Geoffrey was frankly puzzled. 

“How did you get here?” he asked. “When the gates 
are closed ” 

“But they were not closed an hour ago when I slipped 
into the yard,” was the reply. “I am ashamed to say 
that I allowed sheer vulgar curiosity to get the better of 
me, and now I am properly punished for my error of 
taste.” 

“Nothing but curiosity,” Tchigorsky murmured. “My 
dear Ravenspur, you may dismiss any unworthy sus- 
picions from your mind. The glamor of your name and 
the fatal romance that clings to your race have proved 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 149 

too much for the most charming and most tender-hearted 
of her sex.’' 

‘T have no suspicions at all,” said Geoffrey. 

“Of course not,” Tchigorsky spoke in the same mock- 
ing way. The light yet keen sarcasm was lost on Geof- 
frey, but the other listener understood. “Mrs. May 
would not injure a living creature — not a fly or a bee.” 

The white face flashed again. By this time the woman 
was on her feet. One foot she found it almost impossible 
to put to the ground. 

“Get a conveyance and take me home,” she moaned. 

“Perish the thought,” Tchigorsky cried. “Would the 
Ravenspurs outrage the sacred name of hospitality like 
that? Circumstances compel the life of the cloister and 
the recluse, but there are limits. Suspicious as the family 
must be, I am sure they would not fear an unfortunate 
lady with a sprained ankle.” 

“Of course not,” Geoffrey observed. “I will go and 
prepare them.” ^ 

He had read that suggestion in Tchigorsky’s eyes. 
Heedless of Mrs. May’s protests, he had vanished toward 
the house. Tchigorsky had stooped and taken the woman 
in his arms as if she had been a child. 

“What a precious burden!” he said. “Scarred and 
battered, old Tchigorsky is a fortunate man, madam. 
There, you need not struggle ; your little fluttering heart 
has no occasion to beat like that. I am not going to throw 
you over the cliffs.” 

The last few words were uttered in tones of smothered 
ferocity. 

“You are a devil,” the woman muttered. 

“Ay, you are right there. Never was the devil stronger 
in my heart than he is at this moment. Never was I more 
tempted to pitch you over the terrace into the sea. But 
there is worse than that waiting for you.” 

“What are you going to do with me ?” 

“I am going to carry you into the house ; I am going 
to introduce you formally to the family of Ravenspur, 


150 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


I am doing you a kindness. Think how useful the in- 
formation afforded you will be later 

“You are certainly the boldest man in England.” 

“As you are the most utterly abandoned and un- 
scrupulous woman. I can only die once. But I am not 
going to die before I see you and your hellspawn all 
hanged.” 

“Why don’t you denounce me now?” 

“Madam, I never did care for unripe fruit. The pear 
is ripening on the tree, and I will pluck it when the time 
comes.” 

Tchigorsky pushed the window of the morning room 
open and laid his burden down on a couch. 

Almost immediately Rupert Ravenspur, followed by 
Mrs. Gordon and Geoffrey, came into the room. Ralph 
was already there. Geoffrey proceeded to explain and 
make the necessary introduction. 

“And who is this gentleman?” Rupert Ravenspur de- 
manded, his eye on Tchigorsky. 

“A friend of mine,” Ralph put in, “Dr. Tchigorsky.” 

Ravenspur bowed, not that he looked overpleased. 

“Permit me to place my hospitality at your disposal,” 
he said. “It is many years since we entertained at 
Ravenspur, nor do we, in ordinary circumstances, desire 
them. At present I cannot do less than make you wel- 
come. Madame, I regret that your curiosity should have 
ended so disastrously.” J 

“I am properly punished,” Mrs. May groaned. “My 
poor foot !” 

In the presence of pain and suffering even Ravenspur’s 
displeasure disappeared. Mrs. Gordon proceeded to cut 
away the high French boot and bathe the small foot in 
warm water. Almost immediately Mrs. May declared 
the pain to have passed away. There were tears in her 
eyes — tears that moved some of the onlookers. 

“I am sure I don’t deserve this,” she said. “I have 
behaved so abominably that I really don’t know what 
to say.” 


,THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 15 1 


^^Say nothing,” Mrs. Gordon replied simply and gently, 
*^but come in to supper. I understand that you are stay- 
ing at Jessop’s farm. A message shall be sent them that 
you will not return till morning. Meanwhile, if you will 
lean on me we will manage to reach the dining room.” 

The procession started. In the doorway stood Vera. 
She came forward with a speech of condolence. Tchigor- 
sky was watching the pair. There was a hard gleam in 
his eyes ; the clenching of his hand as over the hilt of a 
dagger. Beyond, with a face white as her dress, stood 
Marion. 

She staggered against the table as she saw Mrs. May. 
Her face was full of terror. Geoffrey wondered what it 
all meant. And was this the wildest comedy or the direst 
tragedy that was working out before his eyes ? 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


MORE OF THE BEES 

Of the real palpitating horror of the situation only 
three people round the table knew the true inwardness. 
They were Tchigorsky and Ralph and Mrs. May. Geof- 
frey guessed much, and probably Marion could have said 
a deal had she cared to. Her face was smiling again, 
but the uneasy, haunted look never left her eyes. And 
all through the elaborate, daintily served meal Mrs. May 
never glanced at the girl once. 

And yet, here under the Ravenspur roof, partaking of 
the family hospitality, was the evil itself. Ralph smiled 
to himself grimly as he wondered what his father would 
say if he knew the truth. 

Once or twice as he spoke Mrs. May glanced at him 
curiously. She was herself now; she might have been 
an honored guest at that table for years. 

'‘Your face is oddly familiar to me,” she said. 

“I regret I cannot say the same,” Ralph replied. “I 
am blind.” 

“BuPyou have not always been blind?” 

“No. But my misfortune dates back for a number of 
years. It is a matter that I do not care to discuss with 
anybody.” 

But Mrs. May was not to be baffled. She had an odd 
feeling that this man and herself had met before. The 
face was the same, and yet not the same. 

“Were you ever in Tibet?” she asked. 

“I had a brother who once went there,” Ralph replied. 
“I am accounted like him. It is possible you may have 
met my brother, madam.” 


152 


.THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 153 


The speech was sullen, delivered with a stupid air that 
impressed Mrs. May that she had nothing to fear from 
him. And yet the words had a curious effect on her. 
Her face changed color and for the first time she glanced 
at Marion. The girl was trembling ; she was ashy grey 
to her lips. Tchigorsky, observing, smiled. 

“Tibet is a wonderful country,” he said, “and Lassa 
a marvelous city. I had some of my strangest experi- 
ences there. I and another man, since dead, penetrated 
all the secrets of the Holy City. It was only by a miracle 
that I escaped with my life. But these I will carry to 
my grave.” 

He indicated the scars on his face. Vera was pro- 
foundly interested. 

“Tell me something of your adventures there,” she 
said. 

“Some day, perhaps,” Tchigorsky replied. “For the 
most part they were too horrible. I could tell you all 
about the beasts and birds and insects. I see you have 
some bees outside. Miss Vera. Did you ever see Tibet 
bees ?” 

“Are they different to ours?” Vera asked. 

Tchigorsky glanced up. Mrs. May was regarding him 
with more than a flattering interest. A slight smile, 
almost a defiance, parted her lips. Marion was looking 
down at her plate, crumbling a piece of bread absently. 
“Some of them,” said Tchigorsky. “Some are black, for 
instance. I have a place in Kent where I dabble in that 
kind of thing. I have a few of the bees with me.” 

Tchigorsky took a small box from his pocket and laid 
it on the table. Vera inspected the black bees for a 
moment and then handed them back to Tchigorsky. 

By accident or design he let the box fall, the lid flew 
open, and immediately half a dozen sable objects were 
buzzing in the air. 

A yell of terror broke from Mrs. May, a yell that rang 
to the roof. She jumped to her feet only to sink again 
with the pain of the injured limb. She seemed to have 


154 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


lost all control of herself; she turned and addressed 
Tchigorsky in some liquid tongue that conveyed nothing 
to any one except that she was denouncing the Russian 
in a fury of passionate anger. 

Geoffrey had risen, too, greatly alarmed. From the 
head of the table, Ralph Ravenspur coolly demanded to 
know what it was all about. 

“The man is mad,” Mrs. May screamed. “He is a 
dangerous lunatic. Those are the black bees of Tibet. 
They are the most fearsome of insects. Ah!” 

One of the droning objects dropped on her hand, and 
she yelled again. She was a picture of abject and pitiable 
terror. 

“I am doomed, doomed,” she moaned. “Killed by a 
careless madman.” 

“Is there any danger?” Geoffrey demanded. 

Only the life led among so many perils caused the 
family to wait calmly for the next and most dramatic 
development. Perhaps the way in which Tchigorsky was 
behaving gave them confidence. If he was a madman, 
as Mrs. May asserted, then the madman was wonderfully 
calm and placid. 

“You are alarming yourself unnecessarily,” he said. 
“See here.” 

He reached over and took the bee from Mrs. May’s 
arm. The insect had become entangled in her sleeve and 
was buzzing angrily. 

“The little creature is furious,” he said. “As a mat- 
ter of fact, they are always more or less furious. If 
there is any danger there is danger now.” 

He held the bee lightly in his hand. Then he re- 
leased it. 

“The stings have been removed,” he said. “I bred 
these myself, and I know how to treat them. I am sorry 
to have caused a disturbance.” 

He spoke with serious, earnest, politeness, but there 
was a mocking light in his eyes as he turned upon Mrs. 
May. Nobody had a thought or a glance for anybody 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 155 

else, and the spectacle of Marion lying back half fainting 
in her chair passed unnoticed. 

“Then they are usually dangerous?” Vera asked. 

“My dear young lady, they are dreadful,” Tchigorsky 
explained. “They invade other nests and eat the honey 
as they might have invaded your hives. By way of ex- 
periment I tried one of these on your hives to-night, and 
your bees seemed to recognize an enemy at once. They 
all deserted their hives and not one of them has returned. 
As some amends for what I have done I am going to 
send you two of the finest swarms in England.” 

Vera shuddered. 

“I shall never want to see a bee again,” she said. 

Once more the eyes of Tchigorsky and Mrs. May met. 
She knew well that Tchigorsky was talking at her 
through the rest, and that in his own characteristic way 
he was informing her that the last plot had failed. With 
a queer smile on her face she proceeded to peel a peach. 

“You are so horribly clever,” she said, “that I feel 
half afraid of you. But I don’t suppose we shall meet 
again.” 

“Not unless you come to Russia,” said Tchigorsky, 
“whither I start to-morrow. But I am leaving my affairs 
in competent hands.” 

Again was the suggestion of a threat ; again Mrs. May 
smiled. The smile was on her face long after the three 
most interested in the tragedy had left the dining hall 
and gone to the billiard room for a smoke. 

“Are you really leaving us?” Geoffrey asked. 

“I want Mrs. May to imagine so,” said Tchigorsky. 
“In a day or two her spies will bring her information 
that I have left England. As a matter of fact, I have 
succeeded in tapping a vein of information that has 
baffled me for a long time. 

“Still, I am not going away and my disguise will be 
the one you saw me in. If luck goes well I shall be at- 
tached to Mrs. May in the character of a native servant 
before long. So if you see any suspicious-looking Asiatic 


156 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


prowling about, don’t put a bullet into him, for you may 
kill me by mistake.” 

Geoffrey smiled and promised. 

•“That was a rare fright you gave Mrs. May over the 
bees,” he said. “How did you manage it?” 

Tchigorsky smiled as he lighted a cigarette. 

“I stole them from the woman’s spare supply,” he said. 
“I have been all over her possessions to-day. I almost 
suffocated the horrible little things and removed their 
stings. Of course, they won’t live many hours. I did 
it in a spirit of mischief, intending to release them in my 
lady’s own sitting room. I couldn’t resist the temptation 
to try her nerves to-night.” 

“You are getting near the truth?” Geoffrey asked. 

“Very near it. We want certain evidence to bring the 
whole gang into the net, and then we shall strike — if they 
don’t murder us first. But ” 

The speaker paused as Vera entered the room. 

“Where is Mrs. May?” Geoffrey asked. 

“She has gone to her room,” Vera explained. “Her 
foot is so painful that she has decided to accept an in- 
vitation to spend the night here.” 

“Good,” Tchigorsky muttered. “It could not have 
been better.” 


CHAPTER XXIX 


MRS. MAY AT RAVENSPUR 

The woman known as Mrs. Mona May had lost no 
time in adapting herself to circumstances. That she had 
found her way on to the terrace for no good purpose was 
known to three people, although in all probability she 
imagined that Tchigorsky alone was acquainted with her 
designs. 

He had laid a trap for her and to a certain extent he 
had forced her hand. But she was too brilliant and un- 
scrupulous a woman not to be able to turn misfortune 

to her own advantage. And was she not here here a 

guest among those who for some reason she hated from 
her soul? 

Why, it matters not for the present. From Mrs. May’s 
point of view Tchigorsky alone knew, and Tchigorsky 
was going away ere long. But whether Tchigorsky re- 
mained or not, Mrs. Mona May could defy him to prove 
that she was in any way connected with the misfortunes 
of the Ravenspurs. 

Once the man she had most reason to dread had with- 
drawn to the billiard room, the adventuress lost no time 
in ingratiating herself with her involuntary hosts. 

This was the woman with whom Geoffrey had dined. 
Vera regarded her curiously. She was very beautiful 
and fascinating. She had a manner that attracted. Her 
conversation was bright and interesting. 

*^You must not mind me,” she said to Vera. ‘‘And 
you must not grudge me a little of your lover^s com- 
pany.” 


157 


158 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


Vera blushed divinely. 

^‘How did you guess that?” she asked. 

“Oh, there are signs, my dear. I have had my ov^n 
romance and I know. But women of my age can never 
really rival young girls like yourself. We lack the one 
great charm.” 

“I should not have thought so,” said Vera. 

Mrs. May patted the girl playfully on the cheek. 

“That is a very pretty compliment,” she replied. “But 
it does not alter facts. A woman of forty may be fas- 
cinating. She has the brilliant parts. But, alas! it is 
only once that she can possess youth.” 

The speaker turned away with a gentle sigh and began 
to discuss the art treasures in the drawing room with 
Mrs. Gordon. All the time Marion had held coldly aloof 
from the stranger. 

“You are not like yourself to-night,” Vera murmured. 

Marion’s dark eyes were lifted. There were purple 
rings under those eyes and a hunted expression on the 
white face. It was the face of one who has seen a terror 
that it is impossible to forget. 

“Am I not?” she said indifferently. “Perhaps so.” 

“Don’t you like that woman?” Vera asked. 

“Frankly, I don’t,” Marion admitted. “But there are 
reasons. Strange that you don’t recognize the likeness 
between us. Geoffrey did at once.” 

Vera started. Strange, indeed, that she had not 
noticed it before. And, now that Marion had spoken 
the likeness was surprising. Making allowance for the 
disparity of years, the two faces were the same. 

“Is there another mystery?” Vera asked. 

Marion smiled like her old self. 

“Indeed there is,” she confessed. “But it is a poor, 
vulgar little thing beside your family mystery. Mrs. 
May is a connection of mine. As a matter of fact, she 
is closely related to my mother’s family. She is not a 
good woman, and I hope you will see as little of her as 
possible.” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 159 

‘^But I suppose she came to see you?” 

! dear no. She would never have done that. She 
knows perfectly well that I should strongly oppose her 
coming her. Beyond question, her taking up her resi- 
dence for the benefit of her health in this village was 
simply a coincidence.” 

Vera looked closely at the visitor. 

Mrs. May doesn’t look like an invalid,” she said. 

‘‘She doesn’t. It is her heart. Any sudden excite- 
ment might be fatal to her. Is it not strange that I have 
the seeds of the same complaint?” 

“You, Marion? I never heard that before. And you 
are here !” 

“Oh, yes, I am here. A bad place for heart troubles, 
you would say. But I am young and strong. I merely 
made the remark — perhaps it would have been better had 
I not said anything about it.” 

Mrs. May was talking. She protested gently against 
the trouble she was causing. Indeed, there was no rea- 
son why she should not have gone back to her farm. 
Still, her kind friends were so very pressing she would 
stay the night. But she must be up and away early in 
the morning. She had pressing business, tiresome law 
business, to see to in York. 

“And now I am not going to keep you up any 
longer,” she said with a brilliant smile. “Who will help 
me upstairs? Will you, dear?” 

She had risen to her feet and approached Marion. The 
girl seemed to shrink back ; it looked as if she was being 
dragged into some painful undertaking. Then the nat- 
ural sweetness of her disposition conquered her dislike. 

“If you think I can manage it,” she said. 

IT Mrs. May hobbled upstairs, leaning on Marion’s 
shoulder, chatting gaily. The latter helped her into the 
room set apart for the involuntary guest and at a sign 
closed the door. All her smiles and pretty feminine 
blandishrnents vanished; her eyes were dark and hard; 
her manner was cold and stinging. 


i6o THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


‘'You fool/’ hissed Mrs. May. “This is a nice thing 
you have done!” 

Marion smiled wearily. She seemed to have suddenly 
fallen under the mantle of years. She dropped into a 
chair like somebody old and weary. 

“What have I done?” she asked. 

“Fallen in love with Geoffrey Ravenspur.” 

The words came like a blow. Marion staggered under 
them. 

“I deny it,” she said weakly. “It is false.” 

“It is true, you idiot. You are blushing like a rose. 
And to-night, when that fiend Tchigorsky played that 
fool’s trick upon us you had no eyes for any one but 
Geoffrey. Frightened as I was, I could see that. Your 
looks betrayed you. What are you going to do about it ?” 

Marion shook her head sadly. Never had any one at 
Ravenspur ever seen her look so forlorn and dejected as 
she did at this moment. 

“I don’t know,” she said hopelessly. “I know what I 
ought to do. I ought to kill you and throw myself into 
the sea afterwards. Why should I go on leading my 
present life? Why should I shield you? What are you? 
What are you to me?” 

“You dare ask me that question?” 

“Oh ! I dare anything in my present mood. Still, I am 
in your power. You have only to say the word and it 
is done.” 

“Then why do you take every means of thwarting 
me?” 

Marion rose and crossed over to the door. Her eyes 
were shining. There was a certain restless motion of 
her hands. 

“Take care,” she whispered. “Don’t drive me too far. 
Oh, if I could only live the last four years of my life 
over again!” 


CHAPTER XXX 


A LEAF FROM THE PAST 

Ralph Ravenspur, with Tchigorsky and Geoffrey, sat 
smoking in the billiard room until Vera came in to say 
good-night and drive them off to bed. As they were 
about to separate at the head of the stairs Ralph gave 
them a sign to follow him. 

“Come to my room for half an hour,'' he said. 

The others complied. Tchigorsky slipped away for a 
while, and on his return he laid the end of a long silk 
thread on the white table cover. 

“Part of a little scheme," he said. “This is one end 
of the silk thread. Where the other end is matters noth- 
ing for the present. Ralph, everybody has retired ?" 

“Everybody," Ralph replied as he filled his pipe. 

“I fancy you said that no servants sleep in the house." 

“They have not done so for a long time," Geoffrey ex- 
plained. “Not that we entertain the least suspicion of 
any of them. We merely made the change for safety’s 
sake." 

Tchigorsky nodded his approval. He arranged the 
silk thread neatly on the table, coiling the end round a 
daisy pattern worked into the damask cloth. 

“For Mrs. May’s benefit?" Geoffrey asked. 

“Precisely,” Tchigorsky said gravely. “I take a great 
interest in her.” 

Geoffrey smoked a whole cigarette before he spoke 
again. 

“By the way,” he exclaimed, “who and .what is Mrs. 
May?” 

“The devil fairly disguised," Ralph croaked. “A beau- 
161 


i 62 the mystery of THE RAVENSPURS 


tiful Mephistopheles, a fascinating Beelzebub, a dark- 
eyed fiend, a — a 

He pulled up choking with all-consuming rage. His 
arm was sawing the air as if feeling for the white throat 
of his lovely foe. 

“Steady, there,” Tchigorsky muttered. “Steady, 
Ralph, my friend. Shall we enlighten Master Geoffrey 
a little as to the kind of woman she is ?’ 

Ralph nodded over his pipe. 

“If you like,” he said. “Only the tale shall be yours. 
When I come to think of it, I go out of my mind, as I 
did that night in the Black Valley. Tell him, Tchigor- 
sky; tell him by all means — but not all.” 

“Ay, ay, I shall know where to leave off. Fll sit here 
where I can watch the table. I am interested in that 
silk thread. So long as it remains simply coiled up there 
I can go on talking. When it moves ” 

“You are wasting time,” Geoffrey suggested. 

“True. But to make amends I am going to interest 
.you from the very outset. Doubtless you are curious to 
know the meaning of those scars on my face and on the 
face of your uncle. Lately he has managed artistically 
to disguise his for reasons that will appear later. There 
was nothing to gain by hiding mine and pretty ugly 
they are. 

“These scars were branded on us both at the same 
time by the priests of the great temple in the hills beyond 
Lassa. Three of us had penetrated there, but the other 
one knew nothing of the mysteries of Buddha, for the 
simple reason that he was the servant of your uncle — 
one Elphick by name. Elphick is doing good work for 
us elsewhere, but you shall see him in time. 

“Now, these two men, who had disguised themselves 
as Buddhist priests and had penetrated all the mysteries 
of that most mysterious creed, had made a boast two 
years before at Lahore of what they meant to do. And 
the words of their vaporings were carried to the ears 
of a woman who was a Brahmin, though it appeared as 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 163 

if she had abandoned her religion and had married an 
Englishman. 

“This Engishman had been to Lassa himself and, 
when a girl, his wife had fallen in love with him and he 
married her. There was a good deal of scandal about 
it at the time, but there are so many scandals in India 
that this one was quickly buried under a layer of other 
slanders. Some said that that officer had managed to 
pick up some of the holiest mysteries of Buddha, and 
that the lovely native had married him to close his lips. 
Certainly, he would never speak of Lassa and when the 
place was mentioned he always showed signs of agitation. 

“Well, we went. We were not afraid. Both of us 
knew the East, we spoke many languages, we could as- 
sume any disguise. And in a short time, as honored 
pilgrims from a far land, we were free of the holy temple 
in the hills beyond Lassa. Soon we were picking up all 
the mysteries.'' 

“Are there any mysteries?" Geoffrey asked. 

Ralph gave a quick barking laugh like the snap of a 
pistol shot. All this time his grave, wooden smile never 
relaxed. 

“Ay," Tchigorsky went on, “mysteries! The things 
we saw and the things we learned would have driven 
many a strong man mad. Occult sciences ! What do we 
know of them? I tell you the greatest man who walks 
the earth, a whole regiment of the finest scientists in 
Europe, would be a set of chattering monkeys alongside 
a Buddhist priest. We have seen the dead rise from 
their graves and heard them speak. We came near to 
learn the secret of eternal life. And yet everlasting life 
and the unveiling of the future would not tempt me there 
again." 

Tchigorsky's voice had fallen to a harsh whisper. As 
Geoffrey glanced at Ralph he saw that the latter's face 
was bathed in a profound perspiration. 

“We were thus situated for some months," Tchigor- 
sky resumed. “Gradually every mystery connected with 


i 64 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


life and death was opening up before us, and the secret 
of universal knowledge was within our grasp. Then one 
day there was a commotion in the city, and we found that 
there was to be a great feast in honor of a princess of 
the royal blood who had come back to Lassa after a long 
pilgrimage. We were bidden to that feast and had places 
of honor near to the seat of the princess. 

‘‘She came in presently, gorgeously attired in flowing 
robes and strings of diamonds and emeralds in her hair. 
She was a magnificent creature. I have seen many a 
native queen on her throne, but none to compare with 
that woman who sat flashing her lovely eyes round the 
table. 

“As I looked at her again and again I had an odd 
feeling that I had seen her before. I turned to speak to 
Ralph here and beheld with distended eyes and dropped 
jaw that he was regarding the princess. 

“ ‘What is it ?' I asked. ‘Do you know her, too ?’ 

“Ralph whispered a few words in my ear — a few 
pungent words that turned me cold. And what he saw 
was this. In the princess we had the woman from 
Lahore — the woman who had forsaken her tribe to marry 
an English officer. We had heard before that she was 
in the habit of going away for long periods, and we knew 
that her husband must have possessed himself of Buddhist 
secrets, perhaps sacred Buddhist script, or that woman 
would never have been allowed to come and go like this. 

“Had she married an Englishman in the ordinary way 
and subsequently returned to Lassa, she would have been 
torn to pieces. She had been granted absolution on pur- 
pose to wrest those secrets from the Englishman who 
had stolen them. And we two had boasted in the hear- 
ing of this woman that we were going to learn those 
secrets for ourselves. 

“Would she recognize us? That was the question. 
Remember that we were most carefully disguised, we 
spoke the language without flaw, we had the same tale 
to tell — a tale that we had rehearsed over and over again. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 165 

There was no reason why we should not pass muster. 

‘‘Hope began to revive. Then I looked up and caught 
that woman’s eye and she smiled. I dream of that smile 
sometimes at night, and wake up cold and wet and shiver- 
ing from head to foot. Not that I have more fear than 
most men, but then I had seen men put to death in Tibet. 
The torture of the wheel would be a pleasant recreation 
alongside of death like that. 

“We were recognized. No need to tell us that. 
Doubtless that woman had followed us step by step, giv- 
ing us all the latitude we required, and now she had come 
to teach us the pains and penalties attaching to our office. 
She favored us with no further glance until the feast had 
concluded and what passes for music had begun, when 
she honored both of us with a summons to her side. 

“Of course, we went. In the circumstances there was 
nothing else to do. She made room for us; she smiled 
dazzlingly upon us. And then slowly and deliberately, 
as a cat with a mouse, she began to play with us. 

“ T speak to you thus,’ she said, ‘because there are 
others who seek for the secrets of the faith. There were 
two Christian dogs who came up from Lahore. One 
was called Tchigorsky, the other was called Mayton’ 
(Mayton was your uncle Ralph’s pseudonym, Geoffrey), 
‘and they boasted what they were going to do. They 
knew the language, they said. And, behold, the one 
called Tchigorsky was very like you, holy man.’ 

“It was coming. I bowed gravely as if the comparison 
was not pleasing to me. A wild yell of hysterical laughter 
came to my lips, but I managed to suppress that. There 
were no knives on the table, and I had not dared to use 
my revolver. Had there been a knife on the table I 
should have stabbed that woman to the heart and taken 
the consequences. 

“But your revolver, Tchigorsky,” Geoffrey suggested. 

“My dear boy, holy fathers and shining lights of the 
Buddhist faith do not carry Regulation Army revolvers,” 
Tchigorsky said grimly. “All I could do was to wait.’' 


i66 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“ ‘Did you know those English at Lahore ?’ the princess 
asked. 

‘T disclaimed the knowledge, saying that at that time 
I was in Cawnpore. Then being closely questioned, I 
proceeded to give a detailed history of the movements 
of myself and my companion for the last year or so. I 
was lying glibly and easily, but I had no comfort from 
the knowledge. It was easy to see that not one word was 
believed, and that I was walking into the trap. 

“ ‘At Dargi you were,’ said the princess. ‘What are 
the five points of the temple there ?’ 

“For the life of me I could not tell her. As a matter 
of fact, I had never been near Dargi in my life. And 
the question was one that any Buddhist who had been 
there would have answered offhand. 

“ ‘I have forgotten,’ I answered as calmly as possible. 
‘I have a bad memory. I forget all kinds of things.’ 

“Those dark eyes seemed to look me all through. 

“ ‘You will forget your own name next,’ the princess 
said. 

“ ‘I’ll remember that,’ I replied. ‘I am Rane el Den, 
at your service.’ 

“Then came the reply in excellent English. ‘Your 
name is Sergius Tchigorsky, and your companion is 
Ralph James Mayton. I have found you out. I have 
only to raise my hand and your fate is sealed.’ 

“It was all over. I said nothing. I asked no pity. 
Pity! You might as well strive to soften the heart of 
the wounded tiger that has you down with a handful of 
nuts. Then I ” 

Tchigorsky paused. His eyes were on the table. He 
pointed to the silken thread that was slowly moving in 
the direction of the door. 

“Hush!” he said softly. “Blow out the light.” 


CHAPTER XXXI 


THE SILK THREAD 

Intensely interested as he was in the story that 
Tchigorsky had to tell, Geoffrey nevertheless watched the 
slowly moving thread on the table. Gradually and very 
slowly the silken tag began to draw away from the pat- 
tern on the tablecloth, Tchigorsky following it with grim 
eyes. 

“You find it strange?” he asked Geoffrey. 

“Strange and thrilling,” Geoffrey replied. “It appeals 
to the imagination. Some tragedy may be at the other 
end of that innocent-looking thread.” 

“There may be; there would be if I were not here. 
We are dealing with a foe whose cunning and audacity 
know no bounds. You see I have been among the foe 
and know something of their dealings.” 

A passionate anger rose up in Geoffrey as he watched 
the gliding thread. 

“Then why not drop upon them?” he cried. “Why 
not produce your proofs and hand the miscreants over 
to the police?” 

“What good would that do?” Tchigorsky replied. 
“Could we prove that the foe had had a direct hand in 
the tragedies of the past? Could we demonstrate to the 
satisfaction of a jury that Mrs. May and her confederates 
were responsible for those poisoned flowers or the bees? 
And if we get them out of the way there are others be- 
hind them. No, no; they must be taught a lesson; they 
must know that we are all-powerful. And they must 
feel the weight of our hands. Then the painful family 
scandal ” 


167 


i68 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“You are going too far,” Ralph interruped warningly. 

Tchigorsky checked himself after a glance at Geoffrey. 

“I am not to be told everything,” he said. “Why?” 

“Because we dare not,” Ralph murmured. “It is not 
that we cannot trust you, but because we dare not.” 

With this Geoffrey was fain to be content. By this 
time the thread had left the table, and was lying on 
the floor. 

“The other end is tied to Mrs. May’s door,” Tchigor- 
sky explained. “When that door was cautiously opened, 
of course, the thread moved. Geoffrey, you stay here. 
Ralph, will you go up by the back staircase and get up 
to the corridor. Wait there.” 

“Is there danger?” Geoffrey whispered. 

“Not now,” said Tchigorsky, “but this audacity passes 
all bounds. That woman had planned to strike a blow 
at the very moment when she was enjoying the hospitality 
of this roof. The boldness of it would have averted all 
suspicion from her. One of the family mysteriously dis- 
appears and is never heard of again. In the morning not 
one lock or bolt or bar is disturbed. And yet the mem- 
ber of the family is gone. England would have been 
startled by the news to-morrow.” 

“You heard all this?” Geoffrey cried. 

“Yes,” Tchigorsky said quietly. “That disguise I 
showed you was useful to me. It is going to be more 
useful still.” 

“But the danger! It must be averted,” Geoffrey 
whispered. 

Already Tchigorsky was leaving the room. The lamp 
had been extinguished, after taking care to place a box 
of matches close beside it. In the darkness Geoffrey 
waited, tingling to his finger tips with suppressed excite- 
ment. 

Meanwhile, Tchigorsky felt his way along in the dark- 
ness. He was counting his steps carefully. He reached 
a certain spot and then stopped. Ralph strolled down 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 169 

the back staircase, and thence down a flagged passage 
into the hall, where he climbed the stairs. 

Light and darkness, it was all the same to him. There 
was nobody in the house who could find his way about 
as well as he. 

Then he waited for the best part of half an hour. He 
could hear queer sounds coming from one of the bed- 
rooms, a half cry in light feminine tones, a smothered 
protest and then the suggestion of a struggle. Yet Ralph 
never moved toward it; under cover of the darkness he 
smiled. 

Then he heard a door creak and open ; he heard foot- 
steps coming along in his direction. The footsteps were 
stealthy, yet halting; there was the suggestion of the 
swish of silken drapery. On and on that mysterious 
figure came until it walked plump into Ralph’s arms. 

There was a faint cry — a cry strangled in its birth. 

‘‘Mrs. May,” Ralph said quietly, ‘T am afraid I 
startled you.” 

The woman was gasping for breath, iron-nerved as 
she was. She stammered out some halting, stumbling 
explanation. She was suffering from nervous headache, 
she was subject to that kind of thing, and there was a 
remedy she always carried in her jacket pocket. And 
the jacket was in the hall. 

“Go back to your room,” said Ralph. “I will fetch it 
for you.” 

“There is no occasion,” the woman replied. “The 
shock of meeting you has cured me. But what are you 
doing ?” 

“Sleeping on the stairs,” Ralph said in his dullest, most 
mechanical way. 

“Sleep — sleeping on the stairs! Why?” 

“I frequently do it. I suffer from insomnia. The 
accident that deprived me of my sight injured my reason. 
This is one of my lucid intervals. For years I slept in 
the open air ; the atmosphere of a bedroom stifles me. So 
I am here.” 


170 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

‘‘And here you are going to remain all night?” 

“Yes. I presume you have no objection.” 

Mrs. May was silent. Did this man know the terrible 
position he had placed her in? Was he telling the truth, 
or was he spying on her? , Was he dangerous enough to 
be removed ? Or was he the poor creature he represented 
himself to be? 

“You should get your clever friend Tchigorsky to 
cure you,” she said. 

“Tchigorsky has gone away. I don’t know when I 
shall see him again.” 

That was good news, at any rate. Mrs. May stooped 
to artifice. There were reasons why this man should be 
got out of the way at present. He had brought danger 
by his stupid eccentricity, but the bold woman was not 
going to change her plans for that. 

“Be guided by me,” she said. “Go to your room.” 

“I am here till the morning,” Ralph said doggedly. 
“Go to yours. We are a lost, doomed race. What does 
it matter what I do?” 

It was useless to combat sullen obstinacy like this. Mrs. 
May uttered a few clear words in a language that not 
one in a million would understand — certainly not three 
people in England. It never occurred to her for a mo- 
ment that Ralph Ravenspur might be one of the three, 
but he was. 

He listened grimly. No doubt the mysterious words 
had nothing to do with the matter, but a door in the cor- 
ridor opened, and Marion emerged, carrying a light in 
her hand. She came swiftly down the corridor, her long 
hair streaming behind her. As she saw Ralph she gave 
a sigh of relief. 

“Come quickly to Vera’s room,” she said. “I want 
your help.” 

In her intense excitement she seemed not to notice Mrs. 
May. The latter stood aside while the other two passed 
along. She slipped into her own room and closed the 
door. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 171 

“Foiled/’ she hissed, “and by that poor meaningless 
idiot. Is it possible that he suspected anything? But 
no, he is only a fool. If I had only dared, I might have 
‘removed’ him at the same time. On the whole, it was 
a good thing that Marion did not see me.” 

Without the least trace of excitement and without 
hurry, Ralph followed Marion. A light was burning in 
the room and Vera, still dressed, was lying on the bed. 
She was fast asleep, but her face was deadly cold and 
her breathing was faint to nothingness. Ralph’s fingers 
rested on her pulse for a minute. 

“How long has she been like this?” Ralph asked. 

“I don’t know,” Marion replied. “I was just dropping 
asleep when I fancied I heard Vera call out. In this 
house the mere suggestion sufficed. I crept quietly along 
and came in here. The room was empty save for Vera 
and there was no sign of a struggle. I should have 
imagined it to be all fancy but for the queer look in 
Vera’s face. When I touched her I found her to be deadly 
cold. Is — is it dangerous?” 

Ralph shook his head. 

“Mysterious as ever,” he said. “The miscreant is by 
us, almost in our hands, and yet we cannot touch him. 
Vera has been rendered insensible by a drug. The effect 
of it will pass away in time. She will sleep till morning, 
and you had better remain with her.” 

“Of course, I should not dream of leaving the poor 
child alone.” 

Ralph just touched Marion’s cheek. 

“You are a good girl — an angel,” he murmured. 
“What we should do without you I cannot say. Stay 
here and have no fear. I shall not be far away. I am 
going to sleep for the rest of the night on the floor out- 
side.” 

“On the floor, my dear uncle?” 

“Bah! it is no hardship,” said Ralph. “I have had 
far less comfortable quarters many a time. I am used 


172 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


to it and like it. And I sleep like a hare. The slightest 
noise or motion and I am awake instantly.’’ 

Marion raised no further protests. This singular in- 
dividual was in the habit of doing as he pleased, and 
nothing could turn him from his humor. 

He bade Marion good-night and softly closed the door. 
But he did not lie down at the head of the stairs. On 
the contrary, he crept quietly down to his room again. 

There Tchigorsky and Geoffrey waited him. The lamp 
was once more lighted. Tchigorsky had a grin on his 
face. 

‘Toiled her?” he asked. ‘T heard you.” 

“For the present, at any rate,” Ralph replied. “That 
charming woman does me the honor to regard me as a 
benighted idiot.” 

Tchigorsky dropped into a chair and rocked to and 
fro, shaking with noiseless mirth. 


CHAPTER XXXII 


MORE FROM THE PAST 

Geoffrey looked from one to the other for explanation. 

‘‘Won’t you tell me what has happened?” he asked. 

“As a matter of fact, nothing has happened,” Ralph 
replied. “A little time ago Tchigorsky outlined a bold 
stroke on the part of the foe. He suggested that it was 
possible, without removing a single bolt or bar, to spirit 
away one of the family, who would never be heard of 
again. Tchigorsky was making no prophesy; he was 
speaking from knowledge. Well, the attempt has been 
made and it has failed.” 

“Who was the victim, uncle?” 

“Your cousin, Vera. Sit down, my boy; if you go 
plunging about like that you will ruin everything. Did 
I not tell you that the attempt had been made and had 
failed ? Vera is safe for a long time to come.” 

Geoffrey dropped into his seat again. 

“How did you manage it, uncle?” he asked. 

Ralph gave the details. He told the story dryly. 

“So I not only prevented the dastardly attempt to 
carry Vera away,” he concluded, “but I baffled the foe 
altogether. There was not the slightest suspicion that 
I was on the stairs except by the merest accident.” 

“But you say that Marion was with Vera?” 

“She was. That nimble wit of hers led her to suspect 
danger. But Marion could not have averted the tragedy. 
A slender girl like her could have done nothing against 
a strong and determined foe. If necessary, she would 
have been carried off and they would have killed two 
birds with one stone.” 


173 


174 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 

Geoffrey shuddered. He was sick of the whole busi- 
ness. For the moment he was a prey to utter despair. 
It seemed hopeless to fight against a foe like this, a foe 
striking in the dark and almost moving invisibly. 

‘‘Some one ought to watch that room/’ he said. 

“It is unnecessary. I am supposed to be sleeping close 
by. Already the foe has learned that I slumber with one 
eye open. Don’t be cast down, Geoffrey. Two more of 
the enemy are on their way to Yorkshire, and when they 
are here the mouth of the net is going to close. I pledge 
you my word that no further harm shall come to any- 
body. And Tchigorsky will say the same.” 

“On my head be it,” Tchigorsky muttered. He 
twisted a cigarette dexterously with his long fingers. 

“There is nothing to fear,” he said, “nothing with 
ordinary vigilance. The danger will come when the time 
for defence has passed and it is our turn to attack. Then 
there will be danger for the three of us here. Shall we 
go to bed ?” 

“I could not sleep for a king’s ransom,” said Geoffrey. 

“Then we will chat and smoke awhile,” said Tchigor- 
sky. “If you like, I will go on with the history of our 
adventures in Lassa.” 

Geoffrey assented eagerly. Tchigorsky proceeded in a 
whirl of cigarette smoke. 

“We knew we were doomed. We could see our fate 
in those smiling, merciless eyes. That woman had lived 
among civilized people; she knew Western life; she had 
passed in Society almost for an Englishwoman. 

“But she was native at heart; all her feelings were 
with her people. All the past could not save us. She 
meant us to die, and die with the most horrible torture 
under her very own eyes. Her life in India was a mas- 
querade — this was her real existence. 

“ ‘You fancy you are the first,’ she said. ‘Did you 
ever know a Russian traveler, Voski by name? He was 
very like you.’ 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 175 

‘T recollected the man. I had met him years before, 
and had discussed this very Lassa trip. 

“ ‘Yes,' I said, for it was useless to hold up our dis- 
guises any longer. ‘What of him?’ 

“ ‘He came here,’ the princess said. ‘He learned some 
of our secrets. Then it was found out and he had to 
walk the Black Valley. He died.’ 

“All this was news to me. So astonished was I that 
I blurted out the truth. Only a year before, long after 
Voski was supposed to be dead, I had met him in London. 
When I mentioned Lassa he changed the subject and 
refused to continue the conversation. I fancied that he 
suspected me of chaffing him. Now I know that he had 
been through the horrors of the Black Valley and — > 
escaped. 

“The eyes of the princess blazed when she heard this. 
She was a wild devastating fury. It seemed almost im- 
possible to believe that I had seen her in a tea gown at 
Simla, chattering Society platitudes in a white sahib’s 
bungalow. And I bitterly regretted betraying myself, 
because I knew that, wherever he was, Voski would be 
hunted down and killed, as they were seeking to kill me, 
as they would slay Ralph Ravenspur, only they have not 
recognized him.” 

“Hence the changed face and the glasses?” Geoffrey 
asked. 

“You have guessed it,” said Ralph. “I did not want 
to be known. I am only a poor demented idiot, a fool 
who cumbers the ground.” 

“I had betrayed Voski without doing any good to my- 
self,” Tchigorsky resumed. “If any harm has come to 
him, I am his murderer. Presently the princess calmed 
down, and the old cruel mocking light came back to her 
eyes. We were speaking English by this time — a lan- 
guage utterly unknown to the awestruck, open-mouthed 
priests around us. 

“ ‘Let us pretend that this is my drawing room in 


176 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


India, and that I am entertaining you at tea,’ she said. 
‘Later you shall know something of me in my real char- 
acter. I suppose you recognized the risks that you ran?’ 

“ ‘Perfectly,’ I replied. ‘We are going to be done to 
death in barbarous fashion, because we have come here 
and learned your secrets as your husband did.’ 

“I could afford this shot. I could afford to say any- 
thing. We were going to perish by a death the horror 
of which is beyond all words, and had I pulled the nose 
of the princess, had I strangled her as she sat there, the 
punishment could have been made no worse. 

“ ‘Take care,’ she said, ‘you are in my power. What 
do you mean?’ 

“ ‘I mean that your husband penetrated the secrets of 
Buddha, and that you married him so as to regain those 
secrets. There were papers and the like, or he would 
merely have been assassinated in the ordinary vulgar 
manner, and there would have been an end of the busi- 
ness. Your husband has got an inkling of this and that 
is why he has hidden the documents and refuses to give 
them up ; he would be murdered if he did.’ 

“ ‘You are a bold man,’ the princess said. 

“ ‘Not at all,’ I replied. ‘A man can only die once. 
Would you say that the condemned murderer was rash 
for attempting to pick the pocket of the gaoler, even for 
attempting to murder him? What I say and what I do 
matters nothing. And you know that I am telling the 
truth.’ 

“The princess smiled. My friend Ralph here will re- 
member that smile.” 

“I could see then,” Ralph muttered, “and I do remem- 
ber it.” 

“ ‘Very well,’ the princess replied, ‘you are candid and 
I will be the same. What you have said about my hus- 
band is perfectly true. I did marry him to recover those 
papers. And when I accidently let out the truth that I 
was not outcast of my tribe he saw his danger. He is 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 177 

safe till those papers are mine. And then I shall kill 
him. 

‘And yet I love that man — I shall be desolate with- 
out him. But my religion and my people come first. For 
them I lose my caste, for them I degrade myself by be- 
coming the wife of a white sahib, for them I shall 
eventually die. And yet I love my husband. Ay, you 
cannot command the human heart.’ 

“At this I laughed. The princess joined me. 

“ ‘You think I have no heart,’ she said, ‘but you are 
mistaken. You shall see. For the present I have my 
duty to perform. I do it thus.’ 

“She rose to her feet and clapped her hands and spoke 
in terse, vigorous sentences. A minute later we were 
bound and our disguises slipped from us. And there for 
the present you must be content to leave us. To-morrow 
I shall tell the rest.’’ 

Tchigorsky rose and yawned, but Geoffrey would fain 
have had more. 

“The princess,” he said; “at least tell me if I know 
her.” 

“Of course you do. Princess Zara is the woman who 
calls herself Mrs. Mona May.” 


CHAPTER XXXIII 


VERA SEES SOMETHING 

It was nearing dawn when Vera came to herself out 
of an uneasy slumber. The darkest hour that precedes 
the faint flush in the eastern sky was moving away. 
There was a light in the room. 

Vera rubbed her eyes wondering. It was one of her 
fancies to have no light in her room. Better to lie with 
horrors she could not see than have the glimmer from a 
nightlight filling every corner with threatening shadows. 

Vera sat up in bed, forgetting for the moment that 
she had a racking headache. Something had happened 
while she slept. Something was always happening in 
that house of fears, so that Vera was conscious of no new 
alarm. In a big easy chair at the foot of the bed Marion 
reclined, fast asleep. 

Vera checked an impulse to wake her. In that miser- 
able household sleep was the most blessed of all luxuries. 
Why, then, should Marion be disturbed? Doubtless she 
had come there to protect and, doubtless the girl would 
know all about it in the morning. 

“I will not wake her,’" Vera murmured. 

But she could not sleep herself. The splitting, blind- 
ing headache was very much in evidence just now. Vera 
felt that she would give anything for a glass of cold 
spring water. She poured out that in her own bottle, but 
it was flat and tepid. 

She would go down into the stone-flagged outer 
kitchen, where the pump was, and get some fresh. In 
any case, she had not the least idea of going to bed again. 
Vera partly dressed herself, doing up her hair in a big 
shining knot, and then, in slippered feet, crept down to 

178 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 179 

the kitchen. She had no need of a light — there was 
already enough to show the way. 

How cool and refreshing the water was! She drank 
a glass and then laved her face in the crystal fluid. All 
headache was gone by this time, though Vera had a 
curious trembling of her lower limbs that she could not 
account for. 

She opened a side door leading into a green quad- 
rangle, and from there made her way to the terrace. For 
a few minutes she stood in a dark angle facing the house, 
just picked out, as it was, from the gloom. Along the 
dim corridor some one was advancing with a light. 

What could it mean? What was going on? Vera 
crouched close into the dark corner. She had an idea 
that she was going to witness something. 

The light in the corridor stopped and grew brighter. 
From the black shadow of the house a human figure 
crept out and slid along the terrace to a spot where it 
was just possible for a man of strong courage and cool 
head to make his way down to the beach at low tide. At 
high water the sea swept the foot of the cliff. 

Vera strained her eyes to make out the figure. It 
passed so close to her that she might have touched the 
hem of the white diaphanous garment about it; a faint, 
sour kind of perfume was in the air. These swiftly 
flying feet made not the slightest noise. Vera guessed 
at once that this was one of the Orientals whom she and 
Geoffrey had seen along the cliffs on a memorable 
occasion. 

She was not far wrong. If not the same, they be- 
longed to the same noisome band. Almost before Vera 
could recover from her surprise another figure followed. 

Vera watched with intense eagerness. Slight and frail 
though she was, she was not in the least afraid. She 
came from the wrong race for that. She had made up 
her mind to know what was going on even if she ran 
some danger in obtaining the knowledge. And what did 
that light mean? 


i8o THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


She was soon to know. Presently another figure came 
along, a tall figure which in the gloom bore a strong 
resemblance to Tchigorsky. The figure wore boots and 
a Europeon dress and did not seek concealment. By its 
side was yet another figure also clad in European dress. 

“You say this is the place?’' the latter man whispered 
in indifferent English. 

“Yes, yes,” was the reply, in still more indifferent 
English. “It is to this place that my master. Dr. Tchigor- 
sky, bade me bring you. And there is the signal.” 

The light in the corridor waved again. 

“I am not satisfied,” the stranger muttered. “I am in 
great danger.” 

“But not here,” the other said eagerly. “Nobody 
knows you are here. The princess has not the least idea 
of your presence. And Dr. Tchigorsky, my master, bade 
me hunt for you until I found you. And I have done it.” 

“Oh, yes, you have done it right enough. And Dr. 
Tchigorsky would not have sent for me unless there had 
been danger. But why not meet him in daylight in a 
proper and natural manner?” 

The other spat gravely on the pavement. 

“The doctor is a great man,” he said. “He knows. 
Would you have your enemies to guess that you have 
seen my master ? That is why I bring you here at night. 
That is why there is the great secret.” 

The tall man muttered something that sounded like 
an acknowledgment of the force and cogency of this 
reasoning. 

“I dare say it is all right,” he said. “Fetch your 
master.” 

The servant salaamed and departed in the direction of 
the house. He returned presently with the information 
that Tchigorsky had gone along the terrace. There was a 
summer house a little way off, where Tchigorsky waited. 

Vera felt her heart beating faster. There was no 
summer house along the terrace — nothing but a broken 
balustrade that Rupert Ravenspur was always going to 


.THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS i8i 


have mended. Over this there was a sheer drop to the 
sea below. 

As the pair moved on, Vera followed. Then what 
followed seemed to happen in the twingling of an eye. 
A white-robed figure emerged and flung himself upon 
the stranger. At the same time the other miscreant, who 
had acted as Tchigorsky’s servant, attacked him from 
behind. 

“You rascals,” the stranger cried, speaking this time 
in French. “So I have been deceived. You are going 
to throw me over the cliff. There is no escape for me. 
Well, I don’t much mind. The agony of suspense has 
taken all the sweetness out of life for me. I knew that 
sooner or later this was bound to come. But I am going 
to take a toll.” 

The stranger’s breath was coming rapidly between his 
teeth. Vera tried to scream, but no sound emerged from 
her lips. She stood rooted to the spot, watching what 
seemed to her a long one-sided struggle. As a matter 
of fact, it had not lasted more than ten seconds. Grad- 
ually the stranger was forced back. 

Back and back they forced him to the very edge of the 
cliff. There was no escape for him now. He reached 
out two long and swinging hands ; he grasped two arms, 
one for each of his would-be assassins, and then he 
jumped backwards. Two fearful wailing yells rent the 
air; there was a mocking laugh^ and silence. 

Had she really seen this thing or had she dreamed it? 
Vera was not sure. Just for a brief moment her senses 
left her. When she came to herself again she crept along 
to the house and thence to her bedroom. She locked the 
door and flung herself upon the bed., pressing her hands 
to her eyes. 

“How long will it last?” she murmured. “How long 
can one endure this and live? Oh, Heaven! is there no 
mercy for us?” 

Then the blessed mantle of oblivion fell again. 


CHAPTER XXXIV 


EXIT TCHIGORSKY 

It seemed to have been tacitly agreed by Geoffrey and 
Marion that nothing could be gained by telling Vera of 
the danger that she had escaped. Nothing could be 
gained by a recital of the dastardly attempt on the pre- 
vious evening, and only another terror would be added 
to the girbs life. And, Heaven knows, they all had ter- 
rors enough. 

On the other hand, Vera had made up her mind to 
say nothing to the family generally as to her startling 
adventures. Of course, Geoffrey and Ralph Ravenspur 
would have to know, but the rest were to be kept in the 
dark. 

Vera’s white face and serious air were accounted for 
by the headache from which she was palpably suffering. 
Some of the others understood, and they were full of 
silent sympathy. 

‘Tt is nothing,” said Vera. ‘‘A walk along the cliffs 
will soon set me right.” As she spoke she looked at 
Geoffrey significantly. He knew immediately that the 
girl had something important to say to him. He slipped 
outside and Vera followed him. Not till they were out 
of sight of the house did she speak. 

‘‘Dr. Tchigorsky is still about?” she asked. 

“Yes, dear,” Geoffrey replied. “As a matter of fact, 
he is hiding in Uncle Ralph’s room. He has his own 
reasons for so doing, but the reasons are to remain a 
profound secret. I ought not to have told you. You 
are not to tell any one.” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 183 

Vera gave a sigh of relief. 

'T promise that/' she said. ‘‘And I am exceedingly 
glad to hear that Dr. Tchigorsky is safe. I was not sure 
whether I had not seen his murder." 

Geoffrey regarded Vera in amazement. 

“Why, you were in your room all night," he cried. 
“You were " 

He was going to say “drugged," but he pulled him- 
self up just in time. Vera told her story without further 
preamble. It was a thrilling story and none the less so 
because simply told. 

“I don’t profess to understand it," Vera concluded. 
“I tell it to you just as it happened. On the whole, I 
thought it as well to keep the information to myself. 
I dare say that Dr. Tchigorsk}' can solve the problem." 

“He shall have a chance," said Geoffrey. “I’ll tell 
him after luncheon. But I should not tell a soul else 
this, Vera." 

“I had no intention, Geoffrey. And now, hadn’t we 
better go back and say good-bye to Mrs. May. She is 
leaving the house directly." 

Mrs. May did leave the house in the course of the 
morning, all smiles and blandishments. She had a par- 
ticularly tender word and squeeze of the hand for Geof- 
frey, whom she pressed in a whisper to come and see 
her before long. 

“I will," Geoffrey replied. “You may rely upon that." 

It was with a feeling of intense relief that he was rid 
of her. It seemed hard to believe that the smiling polished 
woman of the world, the derniere cri of Western civiliza- 
tion, should be one and the same with the fanatic princess 
of the fanatical East. 

There was something wild and bizarre about the very 
suggestion. There was one last smile for every one but 
Marion, who had not appeared, and Mrs. May was gone. 

Geoffrey made his way up to his uncle’s room. There 
he found the two friends smoking. Tchigorsky looked 
at him from behind a cloud of thin smoke. 


i 84 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“You have news, my young friend/' said Tchigorsky. 
“I see it in your eyes." 

“I have the most important news/' said Geoffrey, “only 
it does not convey any impression to me. It is a discovery 
of Vera's. She had a fine adventure last night. She 
was not sure whether or not she had seen your murder, 
Tchigorsky." 

“Say on," Tchigorsky said calmly. “Say on, my boy." 

Geoffrey said on accordingly. He fully expected to 
surprise his hearers, and he was not disappointed. Every 
word he said was followed with rapt attention. 

“And now can you explain it?" Geoffrey asked eagerly. 

“To me the explanation is perfectly clear," Tchigorsky 
replied. “Last night I told you that there were two 
other parties to the vendetta now in England, and that 
it was necessary to get them into the net before we close 
it. That is no longer necessary, for the simple reason 
that these two men are dead — drowned." 

“Do you mean that they perished with that stranger 
last night?" 

“Certainly, I do. A fine determined fellow, whose 
death I cannot sufficiently deplore. And he had his 
vengeance upon his foes. If he perished, they perished 
also." 

“But who was he, Tchigorsky?" 

“The other man — my fellow-countryman, Voski. 
Don't you remember my telling you how the princess 
spoke of him ? He has been hunted down at last. They 
lured him here and destroyed him under the pretence 
that I wanted to see him. My presumed servant had only 
to mention my name, and the thing was done." 

“But why bring him here ?" 

“Because the place is so quiet. Because they wanted 
to give their mistress, the princess, a pleasant surprise. 
I don't suppose she knew they were coming." 

“But the light in the corridor?" 

“That was a curious and useless coincidence. The 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 185 

light in the corridor was mine. I was looking for some- 
thing. Neither of those miscreants was ever in the house 
at all. At the same time they had naturally been in- 
formed where I was. To-day they would have gone to 
their mistress with the pleasing news that they had 
despatched Voski. I am certain they were saving the 
news for her.’’ 

^‘What shall you do about it?” asked Geoffrey. 

‘T shall not do anything at present,” Tchigorsky re- 
plied. “I have a little idea that may work out to our 
advantage later. Meanwhile nobody knows of the 
tragedy and nobody is to know. This afternoon you are 
going out fishing in a boat, but in reality you are going 
to look for their bodies. If you can find them all ” 

“We are certain to find them all,” Ralph interrupted. 
“They will be carried round Gull Reef on the spit of sand 
under the caves and deposited on the beach, whence the 
tide ebbs at four o’clock to-day.’ I have not lived here 
all my life for nothing. We shall find those bodies 
within a yard of where I say.” 

“And bring them up the cliff,” Geoffrey shuddered. 
“Ugh !” 

“You will do nothing of the kind,” Tchigorsky said 
coolly. “Bring Voski, of course, but you are to bury 
the two ruffians in the sand. It will be easy to do so, and 
pile some rocks over them afterwards.” 

Geoffrey ventured to suggest that such a course might 
end disastrously, the officers of the law not to know of it. 
Tchigorsky waved the suggestion aside contemptuously. 
It was no time for nice points like these. 

“Those foul creatures are dead, and there is an end 
of it,” he said. “What can it matter whether there is 
an inquest held on them or not? If it is, then there will 
be an end of my scheme. I say you must do this. The 
future happiness of the family depends upon it. It is 
also of the utmost importance that Princess Zara does 
not know of the death of her miscreants.” 


i86 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


Geoffrey nodded. He began to see daylight. And, 
after all, the concealment of these bodies was no crime. 

‘‘What do you say, Uncle Ralph ?” he asked. 

“Say that Tchigorsky is right,’’ Ralph croaked; 
“Tchigorsky is always right. When we get Voski’s body, 
what shall we do with it?” 

“Lay it out in the corridor, where I can get a look at 
it,” said Tchigorsky. “For the present I do not exist — ■ 
at least, so far as this house is concerned. All you have 
to do is to follow my directions.” 

The strange pair set out on their excursion in the 
afternoon. It was a long pull from the village to the 
cliffs, but it was accomplished at length. The boat was 
run aground at the least dangerous spot and Ralph and 
Geoffrey set out along the sands. The former’s step was 
as free and assured as that of his younger companion. 

“Ah,” Geoffrey cried, “you are right. There they 
are.” 

“I knew it,” Ralph replied. “See if they are injured.” 

Geoffrey steeled himself to his gruesome task. The 
three men lay side by side as if they had been placed so 
by human hands. 

As far as Geoffrey could judge, there were no signs 
of violence on the bodies of either of the natives. They 
lay by each other, their faces transfixed with rage and 
horror. 

Beyond doubt, these men had been drowned, sucked 
down by the strong current and then cast up again by 
the sea as if in cruel sport. 

“No hurts on either,” Geoffrey muttered. 

“It is possible. Look at the other one.” 

Geoffrey did so. He saw a face fixed with a grim 
smile, the smile of the man who can meet death and 
knows how to punish those who injure them. The face 
was seared and criss-crossed just like Tchigorsky ’s and 
Ralph Ravenspur’s; indeed, with its strange disfigure- 
ment the dead Russian would have passed for Tchigorsky. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 187 

The face was black and swollen from an ugly bruise 
in the forehead. Had not he known the truth, and had 
any one told Geoffrey that Tchigorsky lay there, he would 
have believed it. 

A spade had been placed in the bottom of the boat, 
and with it two deep graves were dug in the sand. Into 
them the bodies of the Orientals were cast ; the sand was 
made smooth again, and a layer of heavy rocks laid on 
the top. The body of the Russian was conveyed to the 
boat and thence to the house. 

There was nobody to see the mournful entry. All the 
family were on the terrace. A startled servant or two 
came forward and gave the necessary assistance to con- 
vey the body to the dimly lighted corridor. 

'‘Go to the village and fetch the constable,” said Geof- 
frey. “We have found a dead body on the beach. 

The servant went off ; the gallery was deserted. In a 
few minutes the family would be in the house again, and 
the story would have to be told. Tchigorsky looked 
cautiously from his hiding place. 

“Is the coast clear?” he asked. 

“Perfectly clear,” said Geoffrey. 

Tchigorsky came forward. For a long time he ex- 
amined the body. The regret on his face was tempered 
by a gleam of grim satisfaction. 

“It is very like you,” said Geoffrey. 

“It is me,” Tchigorsky whispered. “You are to recog- 
nize it as me. The idea is that I fell over the cliffs in 
the darkness and was drowned. I will explain later. 
Somebody comes.” 

Tchigorsky darted off as Marion appeared. She looked 
white and agitated. 

“Another horror,” she said. “Sims just told me. 
Who is it?” 

“I regret to say it is Dr. Tchigorsky,” said Ralph. 
“He must have walked over the cliff in the darkness. 
See here.” 


i88 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


Marion bent over the body with a shudder. 

“Poor fellow/’ she said tenderly. “Tchigorsky beyond 
a doubt.” 

Ralph turned away, as if in grief. But the grin on his 
face was the grin of Mephistopheles. 


CHAPTER XXXV 


MRS. MAY IS PLEASED 

Geoffrey was fain to confess that he couldn’t quite 
follow. He turned to Ralph, who once more had re- 
covered his old expression — an expression tinged with 
profound regret. From the hall below came the tones 
of Rupert Ravenspur demanding to know what it was 
all about. 

“Go and tell your grandfather,” Ralph said quietly. 
“Everybody who comes near us is fated, it seems. Poor 
Tchigorsky is no more. He was a mysterious man, and 
wonderfully reticent as to his past life, but he was the 
most interesting man I ever met. But I shall never hear 
anything more about Tibet.” 

“He was a very old friend of yours?” Marion asked. 

“Not so very old,” Ralph replied. “And I should 
hardly call him a friend. We were mutually interested in 
certain scientific matters. But as to the marvelous side 
of things he told me nothing.” 

Speaking by the letter this was perfectly true. Tchi- 
gorsky had told Ralph nothing, for the simple reason 
that they had learned and suffered together. 

“Then why did he come here ?” Marion demanded. 

“To try to solve the mystery. He declared that Orien- 
talism was at the bottom of it. But we shall never know 
now. Tchigorsky is no more, and such knowledge as 
he may have possessed has gone down to the sea with 
him.” 

Marion turned away with a sigh. Slight as their 
acquaintance had been, she had been drawn to Tchigor- 
189 


190 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


sky, she said. Strange that whoever tried to help the 
house of Ravenspur should come under the ban. 

“But Tchigorsky was drowned,” said Ralph. 

“No, indeed,’’ Marion replied. “Oh, I know there are 
no signs of violence on the body. I know how danger- 
ous the broken balustrade is; but I have my opinions all 
the same.” 

“You are wrong in this case,” Ralph said, as he walked 
away. 

Presently other people began to arrive. For the first 
time for many years Ravenspur was invaded by strangers 
— a policeman or two, a fussily polite inspector, a journal- 
ist with a colleague, pushing everywhere. They would 
have interviewed Rupert Ravenspur, but the cold glitter 
of his eye awed even them. 

The police let Ralph alone, but Geoffrey was subjected 
to severe questioning. On the whole he came out of the 
ordeal better than Ralph had anticipated. 

“You managed that very well,” he said. 

“I feel horribly mean and guilty. All these pre- 
varications — ” 

“Call them lies, if you like,” Ralph put in coolly. “It 
doesn’t matter. Think of the good cause. If ever the 
end may justify the means it is here. You are deceiving 
only our enemies; you are injuring nobody. And you 
are giving Tchigorsky a heaven-sent opportunity.” 

“I doubt it, uncle. Clever as Tchigorsky is, well as 
he may disguise himself, he will fail. Did not Princess 
Zaza pick you both out at Lassa ?” 

“That was not quite the same thing. Remember she 
knew beforehand that we were going to make the attempt 
to reach the holy city. She allowed us to go so far be- 
cause she is naturally a cruel woman. Moreover, all the 
time her spies had been dogging our footsteps. 

“Before nightfall she will firmly believe Tchigorsky 
to be dead, which is a great point in his favor. She does 
not know that her other two miscreants have met with 
a deserved fate. Tchigorsky will go to her, passing as 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 191 


one of them, and will tell her a wonderful tale as to how 
he and his ally compassed Voski’s death. He will tell 
how that death entailed the death of his companion.” 

“It is a fearfully dangerous position.” 

“Oh, it is. But Tchigorsky will not mind that. He 
loves danger for its own sake. And he will be able to 
act the character to the life. He speaks the language 
perfectly ; he is up to all the rites and ceremonies. 
Tchigorsky will not fail.’’ 

The inquest was appointed for the afternoon. It was 
not likely to last long, and the verdict in the minds of 
most people was a foregone conclusion. Tchigorsky 
had walked out into the darkness, he had stumbled over 
the cliffs, and there was an end of the matter. 

Meanwhile the police seemed to have taken possession 
of the house. And all the time Tchigorsky was seated 
in a comfortable lounge in Ralph’s room, smoking cig- 
arettes and making plans for the future. 

Geoffrey had gone out after luncheon. He would not 
be wanted for a full hour and resented the vulgar curios- 
ity of these strangers. Already some of the jury had 
arrived, and were critically examining the broken balus- 
trades with an owl-like wisdom which, in other circum- 
stances, would have been amusing. 

Geoffrey walked along up the slope toward Jessop’s 
farm. He met a small governess cart drawn by a donkey 
coming down the hill. In it was Mrs. May driving 
slowly along. She pulled up as she saw Geoffrey and 
held out her hand. Her face was very clear and bright 
to-day. 

“You see, I have already adapted myself to circum- 
stances,” she said when Geoffrey had asked politely and 
feelingly after the injured foot. “The donkey and I are 
old friends and Jessop got the cart for me. So I am all 
right. By the way, what is it I hear about your finding 
a body down on the sands ?” 

“It is quite true,” Geoffrey said gravely. “The body 
of Dr. Tchigorsky.” 


192 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“Tchigorsky! Dr. Tchigorsky! Do you really mean 
that?’^ 

The smooth, velvety voice had risen to a hoarse scream. 
Disappointment, joy, relief danced across the woman’s 
gleaming eyes. For the moment she seemed to forget 
that she had a companion. 

‘‘What a dreadful thing!” she said, catching her 
natural voice again. “How did it happen?” 

Geoffrey gave her the details without flinching. 

“It was a bit of shock for us,” he said, “but we are 
accustomed to them. Of course it will be brought in 
that the poor fellow met with an accident, but there is 
not the slightest doubt that the poor fellow was mur- 
dered.” 

“Murdered ! Why should you say that ?” 

“I don’t know. Of course I have no evidence. But 
Tchigorsky chose to interest himself in our affairs, and 
he has paid the penalty. That was exactly what Marion 
said when she saw the body.” 

“So that poor child actually saw the corpse! How 
terrible !” 

“Marion did not seem to mind. She is small and 
slender, but has courage and resolution.” 

Mrs. May nodded. She had received information that 
was a long way from being distasteful to her. She plied 
Geoffrey with questions as to what Tchigorsky had said 
and done, but Geoffrey evaded them all. Tchigorsky had 
said nothing; he had hinted vaguely at what he was 
going to do. 

“I knew him years ago,” said Mrs. May. 

“Oh, indeed !” Geoffrey replied. “He never mentioned 
that.” 

Mrs. May drew a long breath. Evidently she had 
nothing to fear. Her arch-enemy had gone to his ac- 
count, leaving no mischief behind. Sooner or later the 
man would have had to be removed; now he had gone 
away, saving all the trouble. Really, it was very con- 
siderate of Tchigorsky. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 193 


“You might come to the inquest and say he was a 
friend of yours/’ said Geoffrey. 

Mrs. May looked at him sharply. Had she said too 
much or did he suspect? But Geoffrey’s eyes were clear 
and innocent of meaning. Mrs. May shuddered. These 
kind of horrors made her ill, she said. 

“Pray do not mention that fact,” she implored. “It 
can do no good and it may cause a great deal of harm.” 

Geoffrey disclaimed every intention of making mis- 
chief. Besides, as Mrs. May pointed out, there was his 
uncle Ralph. Geoffrey shrugged his shoulders. 

“It is a hard thing to say,” he murmured, “but my 
poor uncle’s testimony would not carry much weight. 
That accident he had some years ago injured his brain. 
But he is harmless.” 

Mrs. May exchanged a few more or less banal remarks 
with her companion and drove on. She had got nothing 
out of Geoffrey, but he had baffled her and, what was 
more, had succeeded in lulling a set of lively suspicious 
to sleep. 

The inquest turned out as he had anticipated. The 
suggestion of foul play was never raised. A surgeon 
testified to the fact that the deceased met his death by 
drowning, and that the injury to the face was doubtless 
caused by a fall on the rocks. Beyond that the condi- 
tion of the body was normal. 

Geoffrey’s evidence was plain and to the point. He 
had little to say. He repudiated the suggestion that the 
family enemy had had anything to do with the thing. 
Dr. Tchigorsky was merely a passing visitor; he had 
met with an accident^ and there was an end of the matter. 
It was impossible to say more than that. 

Then, to the manifest disappointment of those who had 
come prepared to be thrilled with sensational details, the 
inquest was over almost before it had begun. Directed 
by the coroner, the jury brought in a verdict of “Found 
Drowned, but how the deceased came by his death there 


194 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 

was no evidence to show/' Rupert Ravenspur rose from 
his seat and ordered the servants to clear the house. 

‘‘See that they are all out at once," he said. “Half an 
hour ago I found two women — ladies, I suppose they 
call themselves — in the picture gallery with guide books 
in the hands. Really, there is no sense of decency 
nowadays." 

The curious crowd were forced back and once more 
Ravenspur resumed its normal aspect. 

“I will see to the burial," Ravenspur said. “The 
poor man seems to have no friends. And I feel to a cer- 
tain extent guilty. Geoffrey, you will see that all proper 
arrangements are made for the funeral?" 

Geoffrey bowed his head gravely. 

“Yes, sir," he said. “I will see to that:" 


CHAPTER XXXVI 


MRS. MAY LEARNS SOMETHING 

Mrs. May sat among her flowers after dinner. She 
had dined well and was on the very best of terms with 
herself. It had been a source of satisfaction to see the 
body of her worst enemy laid to rest in the village church- 
yard that afternoon. 

For years she had planned for the death of that man 
and for years he had eluded her. To strike him down 
foully had been too dangerous, for had he not told her 
that he was prepared for that kind of death? Had he 
not arranged it so that a score of savants in Europe 
should learn the truth within a month of his decease? 

“And kindly fate has removed him for me,” she said 
as she puffed with infinite content at one of her scented 
cigarettes. “There is no longer any danger. What have 
I to fear now from those wise men of the East? Noth- 
ing. They will see that Tchigorsky has died a natural 
death and will destroy those packets. I can act freely 
now.” 

A strange look came over the lovely face, a look that 
boded ill for somebody. Then the whole expression 
changed as Geoffrey entered. She had seen him that 
afternoon; she had asked him to come and he had half 
promised to do so. That Mrs. May hated the young man 
and all his race with a fanatical hatred was no reason 
why, for the present, she should not enjoy his society. 

She was a strange woman, this Eastern, with a full 
knowledge of Western ways and civilization. She could 
be two distinct beings in as many minutes. 

A moment ago she was a priestess thirsting for the 

195 


196 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


blood of those who had defiled her creed, for the blood 
of those to the third or fourth generation, and almost 
instantly she was the charming hostess she would have 
been in a country mansion or a West End drawing room. 
She waved Geoffrey to a seat. 

“I hardly dared hope you would come,” she said. “But 
now you are here, make yourself at home. There are 
some of the cigarettes you liked so well and the claret 
purchased for me by a connoisseur. I never touch wine 
myself, but I know you men appreciate it after dinner.” 

Geoffrey took a cigarette and poured himself out a 
glass of the superb claret. The bouquet of it seemed 
to mingle with the flowers and scent the room. Geoffrey 
mentally likened himself to an Italian gallant upon whom 
Lucretia Borgia smiled before doing him to death. 

Not that he had any fear of the wine. Mrs. May was 
a criminal, but she was not a clumsy one. She would 
never permit herself to take risks like that. 

Nevertheless, it was very pleasant, for when Mrs. May 
chose to exercise her fascinations there was no more 
delightful woman. And there was always the chance of 
picking up useful information. 

Mrs. May touched lightly on Tchigorsky, to which 
Geoffrey responded with proper gravity. Had Mrs. May 
known that Tchigorsky himself was not more than a 
mile away she would have been less easy in her mind. 

“No more visions lately?” she asked. 

“No more,” Geoffrey replied. “But they will come 
again. We are hopelessly and utterly doomed; nothing 
can save us. It is to be my turn next.” 

Mrs. May started. There was an expression on her 
face that was not all sympathy. 

“What do you mean by that?” she demanded. 

Geoffrey slowly extracted from his pocket a sheet of 
paper. He had discovered it in his plate that morning 
at breakfast time. Long and earnestly it had been dis- 
cussed by himself and Ralph and Tchigorsky, and it had 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 197 

been the suggestion of the last-named that Geoffrey 
should find some pretext for mentioning it to Mrs. May. 

“This was by my plate this morning,” he said. “I 
don’t mind showing it to you, because you are a good 
friend of mine. It is a warning.” 

It was a plain half sheet of note-paper, the sort sold in 
general shops at so many sheets a penny. The envelope 
was to match. Just a few lines had been laboriously 
printed on the paper. 

“Take care,” it ran. “You are marked down for the 
next victim; and they are not likely to fail. You are 
not to go on the sea till you hear from me once more; 
you are not to venture along the cliffs. If you show this 
to anybody I shall not be able to warn you again, and 
your doom will be sealed. — One who loves you.” 

That was all there was; nothing at the top or the 
bottom. Mrs. May turned this over with a puzzled face 
and a hand that shook slightly. Under her smile was 
another expression, the look of one who has been be- 
trayed and is in a position to lay her hand upon the 
guilty person. 

“You are fortunate to have friends with the enemy,” 
she said. “But do you think you were wise to show this 
to me?” 

She was playing with him as the cat plays with the 
mouse. It was a temptation she could not resist, feeling 
sure that Geoffrey would not understand. But he did, 
though he did not show it on his face. 

“Why not?” he asked innocently. “Are you not my 
friend ? Personally I believe it is a hoax to frighten me. 
You can keep that paper if you please.” 

“Then you are not going to take any notice of the 
warning?” asked Mrs. May. 

There was a note of curiosity, sharp, eager curiosity, 
in the question. Geoffrey did not fail to notice it, though 
he shook his head carelessly. 


198 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“I am going to ignore it, as one should ignore all 
anonymous letters,” he said. “If the writer of that letter 
thinks to frighten me, then he or she is sadly mistaken. 
I shall go on with my life as if I had never received it.” 

Mrs. May's lips framed the sentence, “The more fool 
you,” but she did not utter it. It filled her with satis- 
faction to find that the warning had been ignored, as 
it had filled her with anger to, know that a warning had 
been received. And Mrs. May knew full well who was 
the author of that letter. 

“I don’t think that I should ignore it,” she said. “It 
may be a cruel piece of mischief ; and, on the other hand, 
it may be dictated by a generous desire to help you. So 
the moral is that you are to keep clear of the cliffs and 
the sea.” 

Geoffrey flicked the ash off his cigarette and laughed. 
He poured himself out a second glass of the amazing 
claret. 

“It is an unusual thing for me to do,” he said, “but 
your claret is wonderful. You speak of the moral, I 
speak of the things as they are going to be. To-morrow 
I shall go out fishing alone as if nothing had happened.” 

“Ah, but you have not spoken of this ?” 

Mrs. May indicated the letter lying on the table. Geof- 
frey looked at her reproachfully. 

“Have we not trouble and misery enough in our house 
without making more?” he asked. “Now, I put it to 
you as a lady of brains and courage, if you had been 
in my position, would you have shown that to your 
family ?” 

Geoffrey lay back in his chair with the air of a man 
who has put a poser. At the same time he had ingeni- 
ously parried Mrs. May’s question. 

As a matter of fact, nobody but Ralph and Tchigorsky 
had seen, the paper. And the latter point-blank refused 
to give his reasons why the letter was to be disclosed to 
Mrs. May. 

She looked at Geoffrey with real admiration. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 199 


‘T shouldn’t,” she said. ‘'Of course, you are right and 
I am wrong. And I dare say you will be able to take 
care of yourself.” 

He was going to disregard the warning; he was going 
out alone ; and nobody knew what was hanging over his 
head ! Here was a fool of fools, a pretty fellow to assist. 
Much good that warning had done. 

Geoffrey rose to his feet. 

“And now I must go,” he said. “Still, I hope to come 
again.” 

The door closed, and she was alone. Hardly had he 
departed before a dark figure in a white robe crept out of 
the gloom of the garden into the room. Mrs. May looked 
at the ragged looking stranger fixedly. 

“Who are you, and whence do you come?” she asked 
in her native tongue. 

The man salaamed almost to the ground. 

“I am Ben Heer, your slave,” he said, “and I bring 
you great news.” 

“Oh!” Mrs. May said slowly; “and so you have come 
at last.” 


CHAPTER XXXVII 


DIPLOMACY 

Mrs. May crossed rapidly and noiselessly to the door 
and closed it. Not that there was any need for caution, 
seeing that the primitive household had been abed long 
ago. But precaution is never wasted. 

There was coffee in the grate kept hot by means of a 
spirit lamp. Mrs. May poured out a cup and handed it 
to her guest. 

She lay back in her chair watching him with a keen 
glance and the easy, natural insolence, the cruel cutting 
superiority of the great over the small. 

The man stood, his hands thrust into the folds of his 
loose sleeves, a picture of patient resignation. 

“How did you get here ?” the princess asked. 

“At the great house in London I asked, O mistress,’’ 
Ben Heer replied. “I came over, as thou knowest, to do 
certain work. There was yet another one with me. And 
when my work was done I came on to tell what thy slave 
had accomplished.” 

“You have proofs of what you say?” 

“Else I had not been here. For two years we have 
followed up the track of the victim. It was as if we had 
searched for one single perch in the whole of a great 
lake of water. But we never tired and never slept both 
at the same time. Then at last we got near, and it came 
to the knowledge of the prey that we were upon him. 
That was long before the last cold weather that nearly 
starved us.” 

The man paused and shivered. The princess nodded 

?QO 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 201 


with careless sympathy. She had never tried a winter in 
England, but she could imagine what it was. 

“He knew us at last,” Ben Heer resumed. “He met 
us face to face in the public street, and he knew that his 
hour had come. A night later he was in Paris. At the 
same time we were in Paris also. He tried Rome, Vienna, 
Berlin. So did we. Then he came back to London again. 
When he did so we knew that he had bowed his face 
before the All-seeing, and prayed that the end might come 
speedily.” 

The princess followed all this with impatience. But 
the man was speaking after the manner of his kind and 
could not be hurried. 

He would go on to the end without omitting a single 
detail and the princess was forced to listen. Despite the 
Western garb and the evidences of Western life and cus- 
tom about her, she was no longer Mrs. May, but Princess 
Zara. 

She had only to close her eyes and the droning intona- 
tion and passionless voice of the speaker took her back 
to Lassa again. And the day was near, ah ! the day was 
near, when the goal would be reached. 

“Once we had him and once he escaped,” Ben Heer 
went on. “He was a brave man was Voski, and nothing 
could break down those nerves of iron. He knew that 
the end was near. It was in a big house — a house near 
to London — that we found him. 

“There were servants, and they were glad to have their 
fortunes told. It was their evening meal on the table 
when we got there, and the man Voski Sahib was out. 
Then, behold, after that evening meal the servants slept 
till the dawn, and at midnight the master returned. He 
came into his study and the bright flash of the lightning 
came at the touch of his fingers.” 

“Electric light,” the princess said impatiently. “Go on.” 

“Then he saw us. We knew that he had no weapon. 
The door we barred. Then Voski, he sit down and light 
a cigar, smiling, smiling all the time. When we look 


202 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


at him we see that he moves not so much as a little finger. 
There was no sign of fear, except that he look at a little 
box on the table now and then.’^ 

‘‘Ah,” the princess cried. “You got it, eh?” 

Ben Heer made no direct reply. He was not to be 
hurried. He meant to describe a sordid murder in his 
own cold-blooded way. Probably he did not regard the 
thing as a crime at all; he had been acting under the 
blessing of the priests. 

“ ‘You have come for it?' he asked. 

“We bowed low with respect, saying that we had come 
for it. He lay back in his chair, making a sign for me 
to approach. Previously we had told him that it was 
useless for him to call out to the servants.” 

“You did not tell those servants their fortunes in your 
present garb?” 

“No, no, my mistress. We no such pigs as that. . . . 
Sahib Voski bid me approach. My friend had the ‘pi' 
ready on the cloth. ... It was held to the head of the 
other. And so he died peacefully in his chair.” 

“Ah, so you say. Where are your proofs?” 

Ben Heer slowly withdrew a white packet from the 
folds of his dress. 

“What better proof could the slave of my illustrious 
mistress have?” he asked. “It is here — the precious 
stone with the secrets of the gods written on it. Behold !” 

With a slightly dramatic gesture a glittering fragment 
of something that looked like green jade was held on 
high. The princess grasped it eagerly and devoured it 
with her eyes. Words were pouring in a liquid stream 
from her lips ; she was transformed almost beyond 
recognition. 

f “At last,” she murmured, “at last! But the other 
one — your companion. How did he die? You say he 
is dead. How ?” 

Ben Heer shook his head sadly. 

“I cannot say,” he replied. “It might have been some 
scheme on the part of Sahib Voski. When we got back 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 203 


to our room in London we were both dreadfully ill. For 
days I lie, and when I get better they tell me my poor 
friend is dead and buried. 

“Then I understood why Voski Sahib smile and smile 
in that strange way. It was witchcraft, perhaps, or some 
devil we do not know in the East — but there is the stone.’' 

The princess was regarding the shining stone with a 
besotted enthusiasm that seemed grotesquely out of place 
with her dress and surroundings. Perhaps this suddenly 
flashed upon her, for she carefully locked up the stone. 

“You have done well, Ben Heer,” she said, “and shall 
not go unrewarded. The worst part of our task is over, 
the rest is easy.” 

“Then the princess goes not back to Lassa ?” Ben Heer 
asked. 

“Oh, not yet, not yet. Not till they are destroyed, 
root and branch to the smallest twig on the tree. I have 
not spared myself and I am not going to spare others. 
Yet there remain those of the accursed race yonder, the 
Ravenspurs. They know too much, they have that which 
I require. I will kill them off — they shall die ” 

“As my mistress slew her husband when his life was 
of no more value to her ?” 

“Ah, so you know that. You would not reproach me, 
Ben Heer?” 

“Does the slave reproach the master who keeps his 
carcass from the kennel?” Ben Heer asked, as he bowed 
low. “My mistress was right; her hands were washed 
whiter than the snow in the blood of the Christian. It 
was well; it was just.” 

“Then you shall help me, for there is much to be done. 
Take this ring. Place it on your finger and go to the 
others. They are outside waiting. Give them the call, 
thus.” 

The princess made a faint noise like the drowsy call of 
a bird and Ben Heer caught it up at once. He had heard 
it many times before. Then he slipped out like a cat in 
the darknesS; and presently the call came from the gloom. 


204 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

A moment later it was answered and then all was still 
again. 

Mrs. May, who had discarded the princess for a mo- 
ment, closed her window, drew the blinds and lighted a 
cigarette. It was a glad night for her. 

‘‘So those two are out of the way,’’ she murmured. 
“The road is clear at last — clear to the vengeance that 
must be mine. And with the vengeance comes the wealth 
that should make me a feared and dreaded power in the 
East. Give me but the wealth and Lassa shall be my 
footstool.” 


CHAPTER XXXVIII 


GEOFFREY GETS A SHOCK 

Ralph Ravenspur had wandered along the cliffs and 
Geoffrey had followed him. The latter came up to the 
blind man at the loneliest part of the rugged granite, and 
there for a time they sat. Ralph was graver and more 
taciturn than usual, till presently his head was raised 
and he seemed to be listening to something intently. 

“What is the matter?’' Geoffrey asked. 

“Somebody is close to us,” Ralph explained. “Some- 
body is creeping up to us in the gorse. Nay, you need 
not move. We are safe here on this bare ledge. There 
is one thing there is no cause to fear in dealing with 
these miscreants, and that is firearms. Weapons of that 
description make a noise and your Oriental hates noise 
when he is out on the kill. Ah, what did I tell you? 
Somebody is close by.” 

A figure rose out of the gorse, a slender figure with a 
ragged beard and brown face. The stranger crept along 
and dropped by Geoffrey’s side. 

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “It is only I — 
Tchigorsky.” 

Geoffrey was astonished, though he had no occasion to 
be. Ralph took the matter coolly. “I expected some- 
thing like this,” he said. “I knew you would desire to 
see me, and that is why we came along the rocks.” 

Tchigorsky lay on his back puffing at a cigarette. 

“Keep your eyes open,” he said to Geoffrey. “One 
can’t be too particular. Not that there is any danger, 
for I’ve sent those two wretches off on a wild-goose chase 
for an hour or two, and the she-devil is down with one 
205 


2o6 the mystery of THE RAVENSPURS 


of her blinding headaches. You wouldn't think she was 
a woman whose heart is in a weak state, eh ?" 

‘T shouldn’t have supposed she had one,” said Geof- 
frey. ‘‘Have you seen her?” 

“I was in her company for a long time last night,” 
Tchigorsky explained. “I posed as one of the murderers 
of Voski; I gave her proofs of my success.” 

“The forged Garuda stone,” Ralph chuckled. 

“The same,” Tchigorsky said gravely. “It was a 
magnificent forgery, and calculated to deceive those pious 
murderous old rascals at Lassa. At any rate, I am now 
deep in the confidence of the princess, and attached to 
her subordinates, who are pledged to assist in wiping out 
the Ravenspur family.” 

Geoffrey sighed involuntarily. He would have liked 
to know why this vendetta aimed at his family, but he 
knew that the question would be useless. Still, he felt 
that a great deal had been gained during the last few 
hours. 

“Have you learned what the latest villainy is ?” Ralph 
asked. 

“Not yet. There is much uneasiness and alarm felt 
over the recent failures, and my dusky allies are getting 
a little frightened. For the next day or two I expect we 
shall lie low and plan some big coup. 

“What I want to secure now are the princess’ private 
papers. I know she has them and is in regular communi- 
cation with the priests at Lassa. Give me these and I 
can expose the whole plot. Let me wipe these three 
people out, and then Lassa shall get a hint that will save 
further trouble from that quarter. 

“A hint from the India Office that any more rascality 
will mean an expedition to Lassa and the destruction of 
their temples will suffice. But first I must have my 
proofs. Without proofs I am helpless.” 

“Find them,” Ralph croaked ; “find them. Never mind 
the scandal, never heed what people may say. Bring 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 207 


the matter home, hang those wretches, and we shall never 
more be troubled by this plague from the East. If I 
had my way I should shoot the whole lot.’’ 

‘^And be hanged for your pains,” Tchigorsky replied. 
‘‘Ah, my friend, there are serious flaws in the criminal 
laws of this fine country of yours. Patience, patience. I 
shall find out everything in time.” 

“There is one thing I am curious to know,” said Geof- 
frey. “I want to know who was the girl on the cliff with 
Mrs. May that afternoon, the girl who has such an amaz- 
ing likeness to Marion. Have you discovered that, 
Tchigorsky ?” 

“That is what I am trying to get at myself,” Tchigor- 
sky replied with great gravity. “It is one of the mys- 
teries of the compaign.” 

Geoffrey said no more on the point, chiefly because he 
had no more to say. Yet it was haunting him now as it 
had done for some time past. It filled his mind as he 
made his way down the cliffs after luncheon. And then, 
to his surprise, as he gained the sands he saw a figure 
rise from the rocks and flit along the beach until it flashed 
round a distant point. 

It was the girl who bore that surprising resemblance 
to Marion. She was dressed, as before, in a blue skirt 
and red tam-o’-shanter. 

With a sudden impulse Geoffrey followed. His feet 
flew over the heavy sands, making no noise. As he 
turned the rocky point he saw no signs of the girl, but 
there on the beach with her sketch-book on her knee was 
Marion herself, so deeply interested in manipulating her 
water colors that she did not see Geoffrey till he hailed 
her. 

“Did you see her ?” Geoffrey gasped. 

Marion smiled at his excited face. 

“See whom ?” she asked. “Oh, yes, some girl did pass 
me ; but I was so busily engaged that I did not look up. 
How do you think my sketch is progressing? I have 


2o8 the mystery of THE RAVENSPURS 


been at it all the morning. Vera made me a small bet 
that I should not finish it to day, so I am going to win 
my bet, or perish in the attempt.’^ 

Geoffrey was hardly listening. He recollected that 
there had been some little chaff at luncheon over some 
sketch, but he had paid little heed to the subject. 

‘Tt was the same girl,” he said. ‘‘The girl so like you. 
Oh, Marion, how unfortunate you did not look up !” 

“It was indeed,” Marion replied. She appeared to be 
deeply interested. “I would have given anything to see 
her. But it is not too late. Put my materials in your 
boat, Geoff, and I will follow up the cliffs. I can’t be 
very much use — I’m afraid — but at any rate I may solve 
this much of the mystery.” 

Geoffrey returned to his boat. It seemed very strange 
to him that Marion should not have seen the girl, and 
also that on each occasion these two should have been 
so close together without meeting. 

Geoffrey pushed his boat out, got his sails up, and then 
stood out for the bay. It was very quiet, and no other 
boats were to be seen. One or two of the upper windows 
of the castle were visible from there, but no other signs 
of habitation. 

The breeze freshened as Geoffrey reached the open 
sea. Some distance from him a pile of wreckage 
covered with a mass of seaweed floated on the water. 

“I’ll anchor here and get my lines out,” said Geoffrey. 

He luffed and as he did so a puff of wind filled the 
sail. The mast gave an ominous crack, and the whole 
thing snapped and went by the board. Geoffrey stared 
with widely open eyes. The wind was as nothing, barely 
enough to belly the sail. Then he looked down and saw 
that the mast had been almost sawn away. Somebody 
had cut it nearly through, so that the first puff would 
suffice. 

Geoffrey felt vaguely alarmed and uneasy. He was 
a good four miles from shore and was an indifferent 
swimmer. The sea was too dangerous and rough for 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 2og 

bathing. There might be further treachery. He sat 
down and pulled hard at the oars with the idea of re- 
turning to the beach again. 

As he bent his back to the work, he toppled over the 
seat with two short stumps in his hands. The oars, too, 
had been sawed through and Geoffrey was helpless, four 
miles from land in an open boat, with no means of 
progress and nobody in sight. 

The position was alarming. There would be nothing 
for it but to wait until some passing craft came along 
and picked him up. But the time went by without any 
sign of a boat and starvation might be the result. Nor 
was the position improved when it began to dawn upon 
Geoffrey that the boat was filling fast. 

He saw that a large hole had been bored in the bottom 
and filled with some kind of substance that slowly dis- 
solved in the water. With a tin dipper Geoffrey worked 
away with all his might, but he could only keep the water 
from rising higher, and knew that the exertion would 
soon tell upon him. 

“Help!” he cried. “Help! help! help!” 

He ceased to call as suddenly as he had begun. What 
was the use of calling so long as nobody could hear him ? 
And why waste the breath that would be so precious to 
him later ? He could not see that the mass of wreckage 
and seaweed had drifted close to the boat. He saw 
nothing till a line thrown into the boat struck him smartly 
on the face. He looked up. 

“Can you manage to keep her afloat?” a hoarse voice 
came from the wreckage. 

“For an hour, perhaps,” Geoffrey replied. “Why?” 

“That will do,” said the other. “Tve got a paddle 
here. Hitch the rope on to the nose of the boat and 
bale out for all you are worth. This is another of the 
princess's little tricks. I expected it. Only it hasn’t 
turned out quite in the way that I anticipated. Now, 
bail away.” 

“Tchigorsky,” Geoffrey gasped. “Tchigorsky !” 


210 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“Very much at your service. I rigged up this con- 
trivance this morning and pushed off with it, not long 
before you came down. But never mind me. Stick to 
your dipper, and Til tell you all about it when we are 
ashore.'’ 

It was hard and weary work for both of them, but it 
was accomplished at last. Geoffrey was utterly ex- 
hausted when the boat was safely beached, and Tchigor- 
sky, too, felt the effect of his exertions. He lifted him- 
self cautiously off his raft and made a dart for one of 
the caves. 

Inside he had dry clothing, long flowing robes, wig, 
and hair for his face, pigments that changed the hue of 
one hemisphere to that of another. Geoffrey, limp and 
exhausted, watched the artistic transformation with 
admiration. 

“It’s wonderful,” he said, “but then you are a wonder- 
ful man, Tchigorsky. How did it all happen? Who 
did it?” 

Tchigorsky smiled as he touched up his face. 

“It was inspired by a woman and carried out by a 
woman,” he said. “I dared not warn you before you 
started, and indeed I expected further developments. 
But a woman doctored your boat for you.” 

Geoffrey started as an idea came to him. 

“Was she young and good looking?” he asked 
“Dressed in ” 

“Dressed,” Tchigorsky smiled, “in a blue serge 
dress and a red tam-o’-shanter. I need not ask if you 
have met the lady before.” 


CHAPTER XXXIX 


PRINCESS ZARA^S TERMS 

Geoffrey had no reason to fear anything from his ad^ 
venture in the way of catching cold, seeing that beyond 
his feet he was not in the least wet. But the exertion 
had brought the great beads to his forehead, and he lay 
at the entrance to the cave exhausted. 

Meanwhile Tchigorsky had appeared again clad in the 
long Oriental robes that suited him so well. Even in 
the strong light that filtered through a crack on to his 
face Geoffrey found it impossible to recognize him. 

'‘Are you feeling better?” he asked. 

“All right,” Geoffrey gasped. “Pm a little bit pumped, 
of course.” Tchigorsky pointed to the boat pulled over 
the ledge of rock. 

“Then oblige me by shoving her off and letting her 
sink in shallow water,” he said. “It is not pleasant and 
may cause your friends a great deal of anxiety, but for 
a little while it will be necessary for the world to regard 
you as one who has met with a watery grave.” 

“But surely this does not apply to my family?” Geof- 
frey asked anxiously. 

“To your family most of all,” said Tchigorsky coolly. 
“It is all part of the scheme. 

“My dear boy, I am the last man in the world to cause 
unnecessary suffering — goodness knows I have had 
enough of my own — but one must be cruel to be kind 
sometimes. I have worked out the scheme; I have seen 
the enemy’s cards, and I am playing mine accordingly. 
I tell you the step is imperative.” 

“But Vera,” Geoffrey groaned. “It will kill Vera. 

2II 


212 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

In normal circumstances the shock would be great; with 
a girl who has been so awfully tried the news may mean 
loss of reason.” 

‘T have thought of that,” Tchigorsky said. “At least 
your uncle Ralph and I have worked it out between us. 
Miss Vera is not to know anything of our scheme, but 
she is to know that you are safe and well. Come, I fancy 
you can trust Ralph Ravenspur.” 

Geoffrey nodded. He felt easier in his mind. Not that 
he was satisfied, but it would be flying in the face of 
Providence to interfere with the delicate and deeply laid 
scheme of a man like Tchigorsky. 

“All right,” he said. “Til do as you desire.” 

“Then push the boat off without further delay. You 
will understand why I don’t want to be seen in the mat- 
ter. Go, before any one comes along.” 

Geoffrey went obediently. He had not much fear of 
anybody passing. Nevertheless he did not neglect proper 
precautions. As he reached the cave again he found 
Tchigorsky lying on a heap of dry seaweed smoking a 
cigarette. 

“I suppose I have to thank Mrs. May for this ?” Geof- 
frey asked. 

“For this and other things,” Tchigorsky nodded. “I 
knew it was coming; in fact, very little can happen now 
that I am not in a position to discount. My ruse suc- 
ceeded capitally. Behold in me Ben Heer, one of the 
two miscreants who succeeded in destroying Voski. My 
colleague perished in the attempt.” 

“The princess is convinced of that?” 

“Absolutely. She is certain that I, Sergius Tchigor- 
sky, have gone over to the great majority. Besides, I 
have placed proofs of my alleged crime in her hand — 
the Garuda stone all the fuss was about. It is a clever 
imitation, but that is beside the question.” 

“So you have been taken into her confidence?” 

“Well, not exactly that. But every new scheme is 
relegated so far as details are concerned to some of us. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 213 

and therefore I am in a position to discount the future. 
In ordinary circumstances I should simply have warned 
you against going fishing to-day, and thus checkmated 
the foe again; but that would have been inartistic. 

“Besides, I wanted the princess to regard you as an- 
other victim, hence the whole of this rather cheap 
dramatic business. You will come to life again in a few 
hours — when we shall have to be guided by events.” 

“Who was it who tampered with the boat?” 

“You will learn in good time. Let us meanwhile as- 
sume that it was the work of one of my dusky com- 
panions. For the present you and I remain where we 
are — till dark probably — when it will be possible to 
smuggle you up to your uncle’s room. I have not been 
regardless of your creature comforts. Here are cold 
meat and a bottle of champagne. We dine together.” 

Geoffrey accepted his portion with resignation. And 
Tchigorsky was an entertaining companion. There was 
no dullness in his presence. 

“Very well,” Geoffrey said as he lighted a cigarette. 
“We are safe here. Now’s the time for a further recital 
of your thrilling adventures in Lassa.” 

“Agreed,” Tchigorsky cried. “Where did I leave off?” 

“You had been gagged and bound at the instigation of 
the princess.” 

“True. It is also true that but for the intervention of 
the same princess we should have been torn to pieces on 
the spot ; and, incidentally, I may mention that that would 
have resulted in the absolute extinction of the house of 
Ravenspur. The men who a moment before had been 
grave, reserved priests were transformed instantly into 
raging fiends. 

“Had they been possessed by devils they could not 
have flamed out more suddenly. They were mad to 
know that the secrets of all ages had passed into the 
hands of Christian dogs — dogs who had defiled their 
altars. And yet much the same kind of barbarous fanat- 
icism has been displayed in civilized dominions. They 


214 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


were not any worse than the bigots who burned your 
English martyrs. 

“We should have been torn to pieces on the spot, as 
I told you, but for the authority of the princess. So 
commonplace a death did not suit her ideas of the eternal 
fitness of things. Many and many a time afterwards, 
when racked by agony, I deeply deplored that supposed 
act of clemency. It would have been a far more merciful 
death. 

“Well, we were spared for the moment and cast into a 
loathsome dungeon, where we were overrun with vermin, 
great rats which we had constantly to drive off, and 
spiders whose bite was very painful. 

“How long we lay without food I don’t know ; anyway, 
it seemed days. Perhaps it was only so many hours. 
Try lying in the pitch dark fighting with nameless unseen 
terrors and see how many bitter years can be crammed 
into a minute. And yet we knew there was far worse 
to come. But for the fact that we were together and 
could cheer the black hours with the sound of each 
other’s voices we should have gone mad. One moment 
we were cast down in the depths of gloom, the next we 
prayed for death ; anon we laughed and sang sketches of 
gay songs. We were not insane, but were treading 
perilously near to the borderland. 

“Then, after many years — or so it seemed to us — they 
fetched us again. We were not led into the banqueting 
hall, but to a long, low vault-like place on the floor of 
which were two shallow tanks or baths covered over 
with a frame of iron, and from the frame of iron ran 
long sliding rods for all the world like a bird cage, only 
the sliding wires of the cage ran far into the room. 

“Around these cages were glowing charcoal fires, the 
greater part of the sliding bars or wires growing red and 
crocus blue from the heat. What did it mean ? 

“I wondered. Ah! I was very soon to know.’’ 

Tchigorsky drew a deep breath and a shudder passed 



On a throne of stone the princess was seated, a few of the 
higher grade priests grouped around her. —Page 215. 




THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 215 

over his powerful frame. The moisture on his forehead 
was not due to the heat alone. 

^‘On a throne of stone the princess was seated. A few 
of the higher grade priests were grouped around her. 
Evidently they had been discussing us, and had made up 
their minds. We were not going to be tried even. 

“ 'Stand there !' the princess commanded ! ‘Dogs, do 
you want to live?’ 

"Ralph Ravenspur said nothing. He was ever a man 
of few words. 

" 'We have no desire to die,’ I replied. 'Nothing that 
breathes ever has. Even if I were an old man with one 
foot in the grave the desire for life would be as strong 
upon me as it is now !’ 

"The princess smiled. I will not try to describe that 
smile. If you had seen it you would have given ten 
years of your life to forget it again. 

" 'It is in your hands to live,’ the woman said ; 'it is 
for you to say whether or not you return to your people. 
But you shall not carry our cherished secrets to the West. 
You shall live, you shall go free, but you shall take no 
memory of the past with you !’ 

"I guessed at once what she meant. There were at- 
tendants upon the priests, poor fools who fetched and 
carried, who would undertake errands one at a time, but 
who had no reasoning powers, no wits of their own. 

"They were not born idiots; they had been made so. 
They are put under drugs, a portion of the scalp is re- 
moved, and then some small fragment of the brain is 
destroyed. We could have our liberty if we chose, but 
at what price! We could go free, but for the rest of 
our lives we should never know the blessed light of 
reason again. 

"I tell you it came to me like a cold shock and turned 
me faint and giddy. As I glanced at my companion I 
saw that he was ghastly as myself. What use was life 
to us under such conditions ! And the fiends were equal 


2i6 the mystery of THE RAVENSPURS 


to the cruelty of getting us to consent to this operation 
and then detaining us afterwards. We should be a mock- 
ery among them and a warning to others. 

‘‘There was no reason to discuss this defined cruelty, 
this vile offer. We glanced at each other and shook out 
heads. Far better death than this. We knew how to 
die; we could have drawn our revolvers and shot each 
other then and there. But we did not. While there was 
life there was hope.” 


CHAPTER XL 


THE IRON CAGE 

Tchigorsky made a long pause before he resumed his 
story. His nerves appeared to require composing. It was 
impossible to shake off the horror of the past. At length 
he went on again. 

'T saw the cruel light flame into the eyes of the 
princess; I saw that she was pleased and yet sorry to 
learn our decision. She gave a sign and we were brought 
nearer to her. 

“ ‘You understand what your refusal means!’ she said. 
‘You have been here long enough to know how carefully 
our secrets are guarded and also how we punish those 
who try to read them. Where are those scripts ?’ 

“We had no scripts and I said so. As a matter of 
fact, such formulae and papers as we had managed to 
become possessed of had been smuggled beyond Lassa 
to Ralph Ravenspur’s servant, Elphick, who had con- 
veyed them to a place of safety. But my statement was 
without effect. 

“ ‘Strip them,’ she said, ‘and put them in the baths.’ 

“We were going to learn then what those cages 
were for. 

“ ‘There is no need to remove our clothing,’ I cried. 
‘We will do it ourselves I’ 

“I was afraid our revolvers should be discovered, or 
the cartridges be rendered useless by immersion. Ralph 
seemed to understand, for, like myself, he quickly dis- 
carded his robes and slippers and professed himself to 
be ready. 

“Then the grating was raised and we were placed on 
217 


2i8 the mystery of THE RAVENSPURS 


our back in a shallow bath formed in the shape of a 
coffin, and not more than ten inches deep. As first the 
baths were empty, but gradually they were filled vith 
water until we had to raise our faces and press .tiem 
against the bars to breathe. I thought that we .sere to 
be suffocated in this shallow water — a dreadful iaea that 
filled me with stifling anxiety — but there w'.^ worse to 
come.” 

Again Tchigorsky paused and wiped his brow. 

“The suspense was torture ; the terrible uncertainty of 
what was going to happen was agony. Imagine being 
drowned with a bare half-inch of water over your lips 
and nostrils. I turned my head a fraction of an inch on 
one side, and then I saw that the water could not rise 
quite high enough to drown me without overflowing the 
edge of the bath. Evidently this was but the first chapter 
in the book of lessons. We could breathe by placing our 
faces against the bar. What next ? 

“There was no occasion to ask the question. Though 
my heart was drumming like the wings of an imprisoned 
fly, and though there was the roar of a furnace in my 
ears, I could make out the crack and rattle of machinery, 
and the bars over the cage began to move. My face, to 
escape the water, was so closely pressed to the bars that 
the friction was painful. 

“The bars slid along, and as they did so I remembered 
the long projecting ends which were glowing yellow and 
blue in the braziers. My heart ceased drumming and 
then seemed to stand still for the moment. I had guessed 
the riddle. A second later and the horizontal bars over 
my face were white hot. 

“Here was the situation, then — I had either to press 
my face against those cruel bars or drown in a few inches 
of water. Could the mind of man imagine a more 
diabolical torture? I cried aloud; I believe my friend 
did also, but I cannot say. My face flinched involuntarily 
from the scar of the blistering iron ; I held my breath till 
the green and red stars danced before my eyes. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 219 

“Flesh and blood could stand it no longer, and I was 
literally bound to raise my head. Into the flesh, as you 
have seen for yourself, those hot barriers pressed, while 
I filled my lungs with a deep draught of delicious air. 
But the agony was so great that I had to go down again. 
The water cooled the burns for the moment. But you 
can imagine how it intensified the agony afterwards. 

“When I raised myself again the bars were cool. But 
only for an instant, for they came hot once more, this 
time in a horizontal direction. The same ghastly busi- 
ness was enacted; again there was the sense of semi- 
suffocation, again the long draught of pure air and the 
pain from the bars. And then, while wondering, half- 
delirious, how long it could last, something gave way 
and I fainted. 

“That I deemed to be death; but it was nothing of 
the kind. When I came to I was lying on the floor writh- 
ing in agony from my wounds, hortunately I had not 
lost my sight, nor had Ralph ai, that time. He was to 
discover later that the injuries received were fatal to 
his eyes. 

“He was lying by my side and groaning with pain 
like myself. A more hideous and more repulsive sight 
than my companion’s face I never wish to look upon. 
And doubtless he had the same thoughts of me. But I 
did not think of that at the moment. 

“We were alone. I staggered to my feet and across to 
the door. It was fastened, of course. For a time we 
were too maddened by pain to take heed of anything, 
but gradually reason came back to us. My first idea 
was of revenge. Ralph had grasped for his robes and 
his revolver was in his hand. 

“ ‘Heaven help the first man who comes in !’ he yelled. 

“Like a drunken lunatic, I applauded the sentiment. 
For a minute we were both mad as the drugged Malay 
who runs amuck. Fortunately nobody did come in for 
some time, and gradually wiser counsels prevailed. We 
slipped into our garments and hid our revolvers. Then 


220 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


from raging madmen we passed to tears. We were so 
spent and exhausted that we cried like little children. 

“But men like ourselves are not easily daunted. The 
pain was still great, but this only stimulated our desire 
to live and gain the better of those who had so cruelly 
used us. Later a priest conducted us into another room, 
where the princess awaited us. 

“She smiled as she looked at our faces. That smile 
was nearly the end of her. Many a time since have I 
regretted that I didn’t finish her career then and there. 
Had she betrayed the least sign of fear I should have 
done so. And by so doing your people would have been 
saved many a bitter sorrow.” 

“At the expense of your life,” Geoffrey said. 

Tchigorsky shrugged his shoulders. 

“What matter?” he said. “The few suffer for the 
many. Well, as I was saying ” 

The speaker paused suddenly as his eye caught some- 
thing moving along the beach. It was the figure of a 
woman creeping along as if in search of some missing 
object. She proceeded very slowly until she approached 
the spot where the boat lay filled and sunk, and then she 
paused abruptly. 

For a minute she stood fascinated by the sight, then 
she flung her hands high in the air, and a bitter wailing 
cry escaped her. If she had been a fisherman’s wife 
suddenly brought face to face with the dead body of 
her husband or lover, her wail of anguish had not been 
more poignant. 

“Who can she be ?” Geoffrey asked. 

Tchigorsky said nothing. The woman stood with her 
hands raised. As she turned and ran towards the cliffs, 
moaning as she went, Geoffrey started. 

“Marion,” he said. “Marion.” 

He would have dashed forward, but Tchigorsky re- 
strained him. 

“That is not your Marion,” he said. Your Marion 
does not dress like that.” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 221 


Geoffrey looked again. It was Marion and yet not 
Marion. It was the girl in the blue serge dress and red 
tam-o'-shanter who resembled her so strikingly. What 
did this girl know about him, and why did she stand 
wailing over his boat? He felt he must solve this 
mystery. 

“Sit down," Tchigorsky said slowly. “Sit down." 

“But," Geoffrey cried, “I insist upon knowing " 

“And spoiling everything. Sit down, I say, or I shall 
have to detain you. I don't fancy you would care to 
measure your strength with mine." 

Geoffrey dropped into his seat. 

“Perhaps not," he said. “I don't believe you want 
me to know who that girl is." 

“I have heard worse guesses," Tchigorsky said dryly. 


CHAPTER XLI 


WAITING 

They were growing uneasy at the castle. There was 
a forced cheerfulness about the small party that testified 
to the nervous tension that held them. For some years 
now there had been a tacit understanding on the subject 
of punctuality. Such a thing was necessary when any 
moment might precipitate the next catastrophe. The 
mere fact of anybody being late for five minutes sufficed 
to put the rest in a fever. And Geoffrey had not come 
in to tea at all. 

The thing was almost in itself a tragedy. Geoffrey 
was always so considerate of others. Nothing in the 
world would have induced him to stay away without first 
saying he was going to do so or sending a message. And 
tea had been a thing of the past for a good hour. What 
could have become of him ? 

Nobody asked the question, but it was uppermost in 
the minds of all. Vera was chattering with feverish 
gayety, but there was a blazing red spot on her ghastly 
white face, and her eyes were wild and restless. 

Marion had slipped away. The only one who betrayed 
no anxiety was Ralph. He sat sipping his chilled tea 
as if he had the world to himself and there was nobody 
else in it. 

Presently, with one excuse or another, all slipped away 
until Vera was alone with Ralph. He was so quiet that 
she had almost forgotten his presence. When she 
thought herself alone she rose to her feet and paced the 
room rapidly. 

She pressed her hands to her throbbing temples. 

222 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 223 


‘‘God spare him,’^ she whispered, “spare him to me! 
Oh, it is wicked to feel like this and so utterly selfish. 
But if Geoffrey dies I have nothing to live for.” 

The tears rose to her eyes, tears of agony and re- 
proach and self-pity. Ralph crossed the room silently. 
He was upon the girl ere she had heard the soft fall of 
his footsteps. He laid a hand on Vera’s arm. 

“Geoffrey is not going to die,” he said. 

Vera suppressed a scream. She might have cried out, 
but something in the expression of Ralph’s face restrained 
her. 

“Are you sure of that ?’^ she asked. 

“As sure as one can be certain of anything, child. We 
are alone ?” 

“There is nobody else here, uncle.” 

“One cannot be too careful,” Ralph muttered. “Then 
Geoffrey is safe.” 

“Thank Heaven. You have sent him somewhere, 
uncle?” 

“No, I have not sent him anywhere. And you are 
not to ask any questions. I have told you so much to 
spare you the agony and suspense that will overtake the 
others. I tell you because had you not known, the mental 
strain might have broken you down,” continued Ralph. 

“Before long it will be proved almost beyond a 
demonstration that Geoffrey has become a victim to the 
family foe. There will be evidence to convince a jury, 
but all the time Geoffrey will be safe.” 

Vera said nothing. She could only gasp. Ralph’s 
hand lay on her shoulder with a grip that was not devoid 
of pain. 

“You are not to show your feelings to any one,” he 
croaked. “You are not to betray your knowledge by a 
single sign. Ah, if I could tell you how much depends 
upon your courage, reticence, and your silence !” 

“I think you can trust me, Uncle Ralph.” 

“I think I can, dear. I like the ring of your voice. 
You are to be quiet and subdued as if you were unable 


224 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


to comprehend the full force of the disaster. Much, if 
not everything, depends upon the next few hours. Now 
go, please.'’ 

Ralph slipped away into the grounds. A little later 
he was making his way along the cliffs toward the village. 
For a brief time Vera stood still. She was trying to 
realize what Ralph had said. 

^‘What did it mean?" she asked herself again and again. 
But she could find no answer to the puzzle. Still Geof- 
frey was safe. Whatever sensation the next few hours 
might produce Geoffrey had come to no harm. It would 
be hard to see the others suffer, hard to witness their 
grief and not lighten it by so much as a sign. 

But Ralph had been emphatic on this point. Had he 
not said that everything hinged upon her reticence and 
silence? Vera went slowly to her room, her feet making 
no sound on the thick pile carpet. A flood of light 
streamed through the stained glass windows into the 
corridor. In the big recess at the end a white figure lay 
face downward on the cushions. 

Vera approached softly. She saw the shoulders rise 
and fall as if the girl lying there were sobbing in bitter 
agony. It was Marion. Marion the ever cheerful ! 
Surely her grief must be beyond the common ? 

“Marion," Vera whispered. “Dear Marion." 

She bent over the prostrate figure with heartfelt 
tenderness. 

Marion raised her face at length. It was wet with 
tears and her eyes were swollen. At first she seemed not 
to recognize Vera. 

“Go away," she said hoarsely. “Why do you intrude 
upon me like this ? Am I never to have a minute to my- 
self? Am I always to carry the family troubles on my 
shoulders ?" 

She spoke fiercely, with a gleam in her eyes that 
Vera had never seen before. She drew back, frightened 
and alarmed. It seemed incredible that gentle Marion 
could repulse her like this. But she did not go. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 225 

Marion was beside herself with grief; she did not 
know what she was saying. It was impossible to leave 
her in this condition. 

“You are grieving for Geoffrey,” she said. “He will 
come back to us.” 

“Geoffrey is dead,” Marion wailed. “He will never 
come back. And I ” 

She paused; she had not lost control of herself 
entirely. But the look in her eyes, the expression of 
her face, the significant pause told Vera a story. It burst 
upon her with the full force of a sudden illumination. 

“Marion,” she whispered, “you love him as well as I 
do ” 

So her secret was known at last! And Marion was 
only a woman, after all. The selfishness of her grief 
drove away all other emotions. 

“As you do?” she cried. “What do you with your 
gentle nature know of love? You want the wild hot 
blood in your veins to feel the real fire of a lasting, 
devouring affection. 

“I tell you I love him ten thousand times more than 
you do. Look at me, I am utterly lost and abased with 
my grief and humiliation. Am I not an object of pity? 
Geoffrey is dead, I tell you; I know it, I feel it. Love 
him as you do ! And you stand there without so much 
as a single tear for his dear memory.” 

Vera flushed. The words stung her keenly. How cold 
and callous Marion must think her! And yet Marion 
would have been equally cold and self-contained had she 
known. And it was impossible to give her a single hint. 

“My heart and soul are wrapped up in Geoffrey,” she 
said. “If anything happen to him I shall have nothing 
to live for. But I am not going to give way yet. There 
is still hope. And I shall hope to the end.” 

Marion sat up suddenly and dried her tears. 

“You are a reproach to me,” she said with a watery 
smile. “Not one word of reproof has passed your lips, 
and yet you are a reproof to me. And to think that 


226 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


you should have learned my secret! I could die of 
shame.” 

Vera kissed the other tenderly. 

“Why?” she asked. “Surely there is no shame in a 
pure and disinterested affection.” 

“From your point of view, no,” said Marion. “But 
if you could place yourself in my position you would not 
regard it in the same light. I have cared for Geoffrey 
ever since I came here; all along I have loved him. I 
knew that he was pledged to you, and knew that he could 
never be anything to me and still I loved him. Who shall 
comprehend the waywardness of a woman’s heart ? And 
now he is dead.” 

Once more the tears rose to Marion’s eyes ; she rocked 
herself to and fro as if suffering from bitter anguish. 

“I do not believe that Geoffrey is dead,” said Vera. 
“Something tells me that he will be spared. But why 
go on like this? Anybody would imagine that you had 
something to do with it from the expression of your 
face.” 

Marion looked up suddenly. 

“Something to do with it?” she echoed dully, 
mechanically. 

“I wasn’t speaking literally, of course.” Vera went 
on. “But your curious expression— — ” 

“What is curious about my expression?” 

“It is so strange. It is not like grief, so much as 
remorse.” 

Marion broke into a queer laugh, a laugh she strangled. 
As she passed her handkerchief across her face she 
seemed to wipe out that strange expression. 

“I hope remorse and I will remain strangers for many 
a long day,” she said more composedly. “It is so difficult 
to judge from faces. And I must try to be brave like 
yourself. I have never given way before.” 

“I believe you are the bravest of us all, Marion.” 

“And I that I am the greatest coward. I have even 
been so weak as to allow the secret of my life to escape 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 227 


me. Vera, I want you to make me a most sacred 
promise.’' 

“A dozen if you like, dear.” 

“Then I want you to promise that Geoffrey shall never 
know of your discovery. At no time are you to tell him. 
Promise.” 

Marion looked up eagerly and met Vera’s eyes. They 
were clear and true and honest; they were filled with 
frankness and pity. 

“I promise from my heart,” she said. “Not now nor 
at any time shall Geoffrey know what I have learned 
to-day.” 

Marion blessed the speaker tenderly. 

“I am satisfied,” she said. “He will never know.” 


CHAPTER XLII 


THE SEARCH 

Mrs. May sat out on the lawn before the rose-garlanded 
windows of her sitting room. A Japanese umbrella was 
over her dainty head, a scented cigarette between her 
lips. For some time she had been long and earnestly 
sweeping the sea with a pair of binoculars. 

She rose at length and made her way down the garden. 
There was a rugged path at the bottom, terminating in 
a thicket that overhung the cliffs. 

Here it would be possible for a dozen men to hide 
without the slightest chance of being discovered. No- 
body ever went there by any chance. Shaded from the 
house, Mrs. May paused. 

A softened whistle came from her lips, and then there 
came from the ground the dusky form of the man who 
called himself Ben Heer. He salaamed profoundly. 

‘‘Welir’ the woman demanded impatiently. “Well?’' 

“Well, indeed, my mistress,” the sham Ben Heer re- 
plied calmly. “It fell out as you arranged. Behold a 
puff of wind carried away the masts, and behold the oars 
came into fragments. Then the boat began to fill and 
now lies bottom upward at the foot of the cliff.” 

“But he might have been a powerful swimmer.” 

“He was no swimmer at all. I saw everything.” 

“It was fibt possible for him to be picked up?” 

“Not possible, my mistress. There was no boat, no 
sail to be seen. The boat foundered and there was an 
end of it. I waited for some time and I saw no more.” 

Mrs. May nodded carelessly. She might have been 
228 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 229 

receiving the intelligence of the drowning of a refractory 
puppy. She betrayed neither regret nor satisfaction. 

‘‘Of course, they will guess,” she said. “When they 
come to examine the boat and the oars they will see at 
once that there has been foul play. Once more they will 
know that the enemy has struck a blow.” 

“My mistress is all powerful,” Ben Heer murmured. 

“They will try to trace us once more, Ben Heer.” 

The sham Asiatic shrugged his shoulders carelessly. 

“And they will fail,” he said. “They know not the 
powers arrayed against them; the dogs know not my 
gracious mistress. Meanwhile thy slave can see through 
the bushes that somebody awaits your presence.” 

Mrs. May glanced in the direction indicated by Ben 
Heer. On the lawn Rupert Ravenspur was standing. 
The woman smiled. There was the head of the hated 
house actually seeking out the foe. 

“Your eyes are sharper than mine,” she said. “Well, 
you have need of them. Meanwhile you had better dis- 
creetly disappear for the time.” 

Mrs. May advanced to greet her guest. He bowed 
with his old-fashioned grace. 

“This is an unexpected honor,” the woman said. 

“I can claim nothing on the score of politeness or gal- 
lantry,” Rupert Ravenspur replied. He was quiet and 
polished as usual, but there was a look of deep distress 
on his face. “I came here not to see you, but in the faint 
hope of finding my nephew Geoffrey. I have ascertained 
that he came to see you sometimes.” 

“He has been so good,” Mrs. May murmured. “I 
assure you I appreciate the company of a gentleman in 
this deserted spot.” 

“Then he has not been here to-day?” 

“I have not had the pleasure of seeing Mr Geoffrey 
to-day.” 

Ravenspur groaned. He turned his face away 
ashamed that a woman should see him in a moment of 
weakness. Out of the corner of her eye she regarded 


230 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


him. There was not a drop of pity in her heart for 
him. 

'T hope you don’t anticipate anything wrong,” she 
said. ^‘Mr. Geoffrey is not a boy that he cannot ” 

‘‘Oh, you do not understand ! It is not that at all. In 
ordinary circumstances I could trust Geoffrey to the end 
of the world. He is a good fellow, and capable of taking 
care of himself and upholding the family honor. But 
others as strong and more cunning have fallen before 
the dreaded foe, until all confidence has left us. I fear 
much that harm has come to Geoffrey.” 

“But surely in the broad daylight ” 

“Daylight or darkness, it is the same. You know 
nothing of the boy ?” 

“Nothing, save that he was going fishing to-day.” 

Ravenspur started. 

“Oh,” he cried. “Then I shall soon know the worst. 
I am sorry to have troubled you; I will go down to the 
beach. The others are searching in all directions. No- 
body will return to the house until we know the lad's 
fate.” 

Ravenspur bowed and was gone. Mrs. May smiled 
after him. So the castle was going to be left for the 
time being. 

“This is a chance not to be lost,” she murmured. 
“The full run of the castle! Fate is playing into my 
hands with a vengeance.” 

Full of the wildest apprehensions, Ravenspur made 
his way to the beach. It was no easy task for a man 
of his years, but he made light of it, as he used to half 
a century ago. Two fishermen coming up touched their 
hats. 

“Have you been out to the west of Gull Point to-day ?” 
Ravenspur asked. 

“No, sir,” was the reply. “Not one of us. The 
mackerel came in from the east, and there were so many 
we had every bottom afloat. I did hear as Mr. Geoffrey 
had gone out in the West Bay, but I can’t say for sure.” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 231 


Again Rvenspur groaned; no longer had he the least 
doubt about what had happened. There had been more 
foul play, and Geoffrey had gone down under the dark 
waters. The old man’s heart was full to bursting, but 
his grief was for Vera more than for himself. 

‘T am afraid there has been another of those tragedies 
that are so mournfully identified with our name,” he 
said. “Wass and Watkins, will you come with me?” 

The fishermen dropped the brown tangled nets 
upon their shoulders and followed. They were all 
tenants, vassals almost, of the Ravenspurs and ready 
to do their bidding. The foe would have had a hard 
time did he fall into the clutches of these veterans. 

“I am going down to search the beach,*’ Ravenspur 
explained. “I know that my nephew went out fishing 
this afternoon. I shall know his fate soon.” 

It was some time before anything was found. Wass 
came stumbling over the rocks, and there in a clear pool 
he saw the boat bottom upward. At the cry of dismay 
that came from him, Watkins hurried up. 

“Give a hand with the painter. Bill,” Wass said 
hoarsely. “There’s the boat right enough with a good 
round hole under the gunwale.” 

Ravenspur watched in silence. He saw the boat 
beached ; he saw the hole in her side. Wass pointed to 
the mast where it had been sawn off. 

“Poor young gentleman,’' he exclaimed with a hearty 
outburst of grief. “And to think that we shall never 
see him again. Look at this, sir.” 

“The mast seems to have been sawn off,” said 
Ravenspur. 

“Almost off, sir,” said Watkins. “Enough to give if 
a puff of wind came. And that hole has been plugged 
with soft glue or something of the kind. If I could only 
lay a hand on 'em !” 

He shook his fist in the air in impotent rage: tears 
filled his eyes. Ravenspur stood motionless. He was 
trying to bring the force of the tragedy home to himself, 


232 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


trying to shape words to tell Vera without cutting her 
to the heart. He was long past the more violent 
emotions. 

He turned to Wass like a man in a dream. 

“Go up to the castle/’ he said. “See my son Gordon 
and bid him come here. They must all come down, all 
aid in the search. Not a word more; please go.” 


CHAPTER XLIII 


NEARER 

To Geoffrey the position was a strange one. There 
was something unreal about the whole thing. Nor was 
it pleasant to remember that by this time the family had 
missed him, and were doubtless bewailing him for dead. 

‘T am afraid there is no help for it,” said Tchigorsky. 
‘T could not see my way to certain conclusions and ends 
without inconvenience.” 

“Something more than inconvenience,” Geoffrey mur- 
mured. 

“Anxiety, troubles, what you like,” Tchigorsky replied 
coolly. “It is necessary. I want to have the castle 
cleared for a time, and I could think of no better and 
less suspicious way of doing it. The anxiety and sus- 
pense will not last long and by daylight your people shall 
see you again. And the one who is most likely to suffer 
has been already relieved.” 

So Geoffrey was fain to wait in the cave listening to 
Tchigorsky’s piquant conversation, and waiting for the 
time to come for action. 

“There will be plenty to do presently,” the Russian 
said. “Meanwhile I am going to leave you to yourself 
for a space. The woman who regards me as her servant 
may need me. And, remember, you are not to leave the 
cave in any circumstances, else all my delicately laid plans 
will be blown to the winds.” 

So saying Tchigorsky disappeared. It seemed hours 
before anything happened. It was safe in the cave. No- 
body was likly to come there, and if they did there was 

233 


234 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


not the slightest chance of discovery, for the cave went 
far under the cliff and was dark as the throat of a wolf. 

By and by there came the sound of voices on the beach, 
and Rupert Ravenspur, followed by the two fishermen, 
appeared. Geoffrey’s heart smote him as he saw his 
grandfather. Then they found the boat, and directly 
afterwards the two fishermen rushed away, leaving 
Ravenspur behind. 

It was only the strongest self-control that prevented 
Geoffrey from making his presence known to the figure 
gazing so sadly at the boat. But he remembered Tchigor- 
sky’s warning. 

After all, he reflected, it would only be for a little 
time. And the head of the family knew nothing of the 
great conspiracies working themselves out around him. 
His open honorable nature would have shrunk from the 
subtle diplomacy and cunning that appealed so powerfully 
to Tchigorsky. 

Rupert Ravenspur would not have tolerated the posi - 
tion for a moment. He would have insisted upon going 
to Mrs. May and having the matter out at once, or he 
would have called in the police. And that course would 
be fatal. 

So Geoffrey was constrained to stay and watch. 
Presently he saw the fishermen return, followed by the 
family. There was a gathering about the foundered boat, 
and then Geoffrey turned his eyes away, ashamed to wit- 
ness the emotion caused by what they regarded as his 
untimely death. 

He had seen them all and beheld their grief. He could 
see Marion bent down with a handkerchief to her stream- 
ing eyes and the head of the family comforting her. He 
saw Vera apart from the rest, gazing out to sea. 

Beyond, a fleet of boats were coming round the point. 
They were small fishing smacks in search of the drowned 
Ravenspur. 

Geoffrey pinched himself to make sure he was awake. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 235 

It is not often that a live man sits watching people search 
for his dead body. 

But there was comfort in the knowledge that Vera 
was aware of everything. Geoffrey could see that she 
had been told. That was why she kept apart from the 
rest. She walked along the sands past the mouth of the 
cave, her head bent down. 

Flesh and blood could stand it no longer ; in the mouth 
of the cave Geoffrey stood and called Vera softly by 
name. 

The girl started and half turned. 

“Don’t be alarmed,” Geoffrey whispered. “I am in 
the cave. It is safe here. Watch your opportunity and 
come in, for I must have a few words with you. Only 
do it naturally and don’t let anybody suspect.” 

Vera had turned her back to the cave, and appeared 
to be sadly gazing over the sea. Gradually she slipped 
back, watching the others, who apparently had forgotten 
her, until she was lost in the gloom of the cavern. 

A moment later and Geoffrey had her in his arms. It 
was good to feel her heart beating against his, to feel her 
kisses warm on his lips. 

“Did Tchigorsky tell you?” he asked. 

“No, Uncle Ralph. Oh, I am so glad to see you again, 
Geoffrey. I knew you were not lost, that you would be 
safe after what uncle said, and yet all the time there was 
a strange void in my heart.” 

“But my darling, I am safe.” 

Vera laid her head restfully on his shoulder. 

“I know, I know !” she said. “But I have had a fore- 
taste of what might have been. When Wass and Wat- 
kins came and told me that your overturned boat had 
been found, I began to realize what it might be to live 
without you. Dear Geoff, will it be long before all this 
anxiety is disposed of?” 

Geoffrey kissed her trembling lips. 

“Not long, so Tchigorsky says, and I have implicit 


236 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


faith in him. The present situation is all part of the 
plot of our salvation. And the others ?” 

“Are heartbroken. My poor grandfather looks ten 
years older. You know how entirely he has been wrapped 
up in us. I feel sure that if he could have saved us by 
sacrificing the rest, himself included, he would have 
done so."*’ 

“I know,” Geoffrey said hoarsely. “I know, dear. 
And Marion?” 

“Marion is sorely disturbed. I hardly know what to 
make of Marion. For the first time she positively ap- 
pears to be frightened. And Marion is not the girl who 
cries. I was alarmed about her a little time ago,” replied 
Vera. 

“Ah, well, it won’t be very long,” Geoffrey said con- 
solingly. “To-morrow morning Tchigorsky has prom- 
ised that I shall be safe and sound in the bosom of the 
family again. What are they going to do now ?” 

“They are going to search until they find you. All 
the boats from the village are out, even the servants are 
assisting. You can understand how I should feel if I 
did not know everything. I could not stay in the house ; 
I could do no more than wander along the shore feeling 
that I was helping. It would be impossible to remain 
in the house and that is what they all feel. There is a 
full moon to-night, and they will be here till they are 
exhausted.” 

Geoffrey nodded. He was wondering how he was 
going to account for his absence and for the manner in 
which he was finally to turn up safe and sound again. 
He would have to concoct some story of being picked up 
by a passing boat and landed some way down the coast. 

“They guess I am a victim to the vendetta ?” he asked. 

“Of course. They say the mast and oars were partly 
sawn away. It will be the talk of the country in a few 
hours. Geoffrey, I must go. Don’t you see that they 
have missed me?” 

Vera had been missed. Already Marion was calling 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 237 

her. There was just the chance that she might be yet 
another victim. Vera slipped out of the cave, walking 
backwards as if she were looking for something. 

“You won’t betray yourself?” said Geoffrey. 

“Eli try not to, dear. I understand how necessary it 
is that the truth should be concealed. And yet it is hard 
not to be able to ease their minds.” 

Vera was clear of the cave by this time, and her voice 
ceased. A few yards farther on and Marion came up to 
her. She was looking pale and ghastly ; there were rings 
under her eyes ; her nerves had had a terrible shock. 

‘T couldn’t imagine where you had got to,” she said. 
“I looked round, and you had disappeared. I feared 
you had been spirited away.” 

“By the cruel foe, Marion? One by one we go. It 
may be your turn next.” 

“Would to Heaven that it was!” Marion whispered 
vehemently. “A little time ago I fancied that I was 
strong enough to bear up against anything. Now I know 
what a feeble creature I am. Before this happened I 
would a thousand times have been the victim myself. 
And I— I ” 

She paused and beat the air impotently. Vera won- 
dered. Could this really be the strong, self-reliant 
Marion who had uplifted them in so many troubles, this 
the girl who always had a smile on her face and words 
of comfort on her lips? This was a weak, frightened 
creature, with eyes that were haunted. 

“Be brave,” said Vera, “and be yourself. What 
should we do without you? Why, you are so full of 
remorse you might have been responsible for Geoffrey’s 
death yourself.” 

Marion looked up swiftly and then her eyes fell. 

“It is because I love him,” she said. 

“And I love him, too. But I try to be brave.” 

Marion was silent under the reproof. Vera was calm 
and collected. What a reaction there would be later, 
Marion thought. 


238 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


‘'You have not given up all hope?” she asked. 

“No, I cannot. It would be too cruel. I cannot 
imagine that anything really serious has happened to 
Geoffrey. I cannot feel anything for the present, save 
for you. And my heart is full for you, Marion.” 

“Ay,” Marion said drearily. “It need be.” 

Vera turned and walked swiftly across the sands. She 
wanted to be alone now that no danger threatened. 

Then presently the moon rose and shone upon the 
people gathered on the fringe of the sea. To the im- 
patient Geoffrey came Ralph Ravenspur with a cloak and 
slouched hat over his arm. 


CHAPTER XLIV 


STILL NEARER 

He entered as coolly and easily as if he had been doing 
this kind of thing all his life, as if he had the full use of 
his eyesight. 

“I can’t see you, but, of course, you are there,” he said. 
“Tchigorsky sent me because he cannot come himself. 
The jade he calls his mistress has need of him. Muffle 
yourself and follow me. Not too closely.” 

Geoffrey was only too glad of the opportunity. He 
passed under the shadow of the rocks until he gained 
the path to the head of the cliffs and here Ralph paused. 

“We are safe now,” he said. “You can remove your 
disguise and cross the terrace. There is not a living soul 
in the castle at present.” 

“All the servants are on the beach, then?” 

“Every one of them, both male and female, which is 
a flattering testimony to your popularity, Geoffrey. I 
opine that they will be pleased to see you in the morning. 
By the way, have you concocted a plausible story to 
account for your escape ?” 

“I haven’t,” Geoffrey admitted with a smile. “I pre- 
ferred to leave it to the greater talents of Tchigorsky 
and yourself. I have no genius for fiction.” 

Ralph muttered that the matter might be safely left 
in their hands, and then they entered the deserted castle 
and made their way to Ralph’s room. Here the two 
doors were closed and Ralph sat down silently over his 
pipe. 

“Is anything going to happen?” Geoffrey asked. 

“A great deal during the next hour or two,” Ralph 

239 


240 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


replied. “But it is impossible to forecast, and you will 
see it all for yourself in good time. I can’t do anything 
until I have heard further from our friend Tchigorsky.” 

Half an hour passed in dead silence, and then there 
was a rapping on the window. When the casement was 
thrown open, the head of Tchigorsky appeared. He was 
clad in Oriental robes and had made his way upwards 
by climbing the thick ivy that grew on that side of the 
house. He nodded to Geoffrey. 

“I told you we should meet again,” he said. “I have 
just ten minutes to spare. A cigarette, please.” 

Geoffrey handed over the cigarette. “Have you dis- 
covered it all?” Ralph asked. 

“I have discovered nothing,” Tchigorsky said calmly 
from behind the cloud of smoke. “At present I have not 
the remotest idea which way she will strike.” 

“Ah, she is in one of her suspicious moods.” 

“When she trusts nobody. Quite right. All I can tell 
you is that she is coming here presently. She is well 
aware that there is not a soul in the house. She knows 
that this state of things is likely to last for some time. 
She will come by and by, and with her she will bring 
some great danger to the house of Ravenspur. What 
form that danger is to take I cannot say. But I shall 
find out.” 

The last words came from Tchigorsky ’s lips with a 
snap. 

“But she will want confederates,” said Geoffrey. 

“She may or she may not. She is a woman of infinite 
resource. Nobody knows what mischief she is capable of. 
If she brings me along, I may be exceedingly useful ; if 
she leaves me behind I shall be more usefully employed in 
going over her papers and documents. You see, I know 
the language. But, be that as it may, this is going to be 
an eventful night.” 

Tchigorsky finished his cigarette and rose to go. He 
had few instructions to leave behind him. and these few 
were of an exceedingly simple nature. All that Geoffrey 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 241 

and Ralph Ravenspur had to do was to watch. They 
were to keep their eyes open and be largely guided by 
events. And there were to be no lights. 

Half an hour passed before Ralph rose and softly 
opened the door. For a little time he threw the casement 
open wide. As Geoffrey drew a match from his box 
Ralph laid a restraining hand on his arm. 

“No more smoking/' he said. “I purposely opened 
the casement to sweeten the air of the room. My dear 
boy, you do not want to betray us with the smell of fresh 
tobacco. The enemy would take alarm at once.” 

“I had forgotten,” Geoffrey murmured. “How stupid 
of me !” 

Again silence and painful tension on the nerves. Pres- 
ently below came the soft fall of a foot, and then a noise 
as if a human body had come in contact with some object 
in the dark. There was the scratch of a match, and a 
ball of flame flickered in ghastly fashion in the hall. 

“The foe is here,” Ralph whispered. “Go and look 
over. Your rubber-soled boots are in the corner. Put 
them on.” 

Geoffrey did as he desired. He crept along the corridor 
until he could look down into the hall. There he saw a 
woman — a woman who wore short skirts and a closely 
fitting jacket. She had a small lantern in her hand, the 
light of which she seemed to lower or heighten by press- 
ing a stud. 

Behind her came the two Orientals, who carried a 
small but heavy brass-bound box between them. This, 
at a sign from the woman, they deposited on the floor. 

As far as Geoffrey could judge neither of these men 
was Tchigorsky. He could catch the sound of whispered 
conversation, but the words conveyed no meaning to his 
ears. The two discoursed in a language he did not 
understand. 

A hand was laid on Geoffrey's arm. He turned to 
see Ralph by his side. The latter bent over the balustrade 
listening with all his ears. Down below the brass box 


^42 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

was being opened and the contents were placed upon the 
floor. 

The contents looked like machinery, but it -was ma- 
chinery of a kind that Geoffrey had never seen before. 
There was a small disk of hammered copper, and to this 
was attached a number of what seemed to be india-rubber 
snakes. At a sign from the woman the two Asiatics 
picked up the box and its contents and started away 
toward the kitchen. 

Noiseless as they were, Ralph heard them. He clutched 
his companion’s arm. 

“They have gone,” he whispered. “In which 
direction ?” 

“They had moved off towards the kitchen,” said 
Geoffrey. 

“Good! This thing is turning out exactly as I ex- 
pected. They had something with them ?” 

“Yes, a thing like a copper octopus with india-rubber 
tentacles. They have taken it with them. A most 
extraordinary affair.” 

“It will be more extraordinary still before it is fin- 
ished,” Ralph said grimly. “Follow them and report 
what you see. Take good care not to be seen. Unless 
I am mistaken they are going down to the vaults and are 
planning a coup to do for us all to-night.” 

Geoffrey crept silently down the stairs. Then he made 
his way swiftly along the passages until he came to the 
cellars. Then the steady blowing of a current of fresh 
air told him that Ralph’s suggestion was right. Down 
he went until he came to the channel leading to the vaults. 

But he was cautious. He peeped down. Below him 
were three figures, and once more they had spread out 
their queer apparatus. By the side of it were two large 
glass-stoppered bottles, such as one sees in a laboratory, 
receptacles for acids and the like. They were tightly tied 
over the stoppers. 

The woman picked up one of them and removed the 
parchment. Before she drew the stopper she donned 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 243 


thick glasses and a mask for her face, the two Orientals 
doing the same. They were evidently dealing with some 
very dangerous poison. 

The stopper was removed and a few spots of the acid 
dropped on the copper disc. A white smoke arose, 
which, small as it was, filled the air with a pungent odor. 
Almost immediately the acid was wiped off and the odor 
ceased. Only just a whiff of it reached Geoffrey’s nose, 
but it turned him faint — giddy for an instant. 

What was going to happen next? 


CHAPTER XLV 


BAFFLED 

Geoffrey had not long to wait. From where he was 
standing he could see down into the vault perfectly well. 
He would have been better satisfied had he understood 
what those people were talking about, but their words 
conveyed nothing to him. ^ 

On the floor of the vault the queer-poking machinery 
was spread out, and to the ends of the india-rubber tubes 
wires were attached. No sooner had this been accom- 
plished than the woman, after giving some rapid instruc- 
tions to her allies, left the vault. She was so quick that 
Geoffrey barely had time to conceal himself behind a 
pillar before she passed him. 

The woman was masked and disguised beyond recog- 
nition, but Geoffrey had no need to be told who she was. 
He knew that he was in the presence of Mrs. May. And, 
despite his knowledge of her cleverness and resource, he 
found himself marveling to see her display so fine a 
knowledge of the house. 

The woman passed along, dragging a number of fine 
light wires after her. The other ends of the wires were 
attached to the queer-looking apparatus in the vault. 

Mrs. May went along the passages, along the corridor, 
and up the stairs as if she had been accustomed to the 
house all her life. Surely she must have been here many 
times before, or she would not have exhibited such fear- 
less confidence. The idea of the black, gliding figure 
creeping about the house in the dead of night filled Geof- 
frey with loathing. 


244 


iTHE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 245 

All the same, he did not neglect his opportunities. He 
followed swiftly and silently until he came to the main 
corridor on the first landing. Here, to his surprise, the 
woman turned into one of the bed-rooms, the room used 
by the head of the house. She closed the door behind 
her. 

What to do next ? But Geoffrey was not long in doubt. 
Ralph was standing by his side, a dark lantern in his 
hand. 

' ■“Where did she go?’' he whispered. 

“You heard her, then?” asked Geoffrey. 

“Of course, I heard everything. I see with my ears. 
Naturally you guessed who she was. But what room did 
she go into?” ^ 

“My grandfather^.” 

“So I expected. But she means to visit all the rooms 
in turn. You need not be afraid, she will be there for 
some minutes. What do you see outside ?” 

Geoffrey made a close examination with the lantern. 

“I see a tangle of small wires on the floor,” he said. 
“They come up from the vaults.” 

“Where they are attached to a queer-looking in- 
strument ?” 

“Yes, yes. I see you know all about it. One of the 
wires runs under the door into the room where Mrs. 
May is engaged.” 

And where she will be engaged for some time,” said 
Ralph. “Move that book ladder and look over the 
fanlight.” 

There were books on high shelves in the corridor, and 
a light librarian’s ladder close at hand. Geoffrey propped 
this against the door and looked in through the open 
fanlight. All the bed-room doors had fanlights at 
Ravenspur. ^ i 

The lantern inside was on the dressing-table and, 
standing on a chair by a fireplace, was Mrs. May. She 
had pinned the thin wire to the wall cunningly, and had 
turned the end of it into a plate that stood on the mantel 


246 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

shelf. From a flask she poured a little white powder into 
the plate. 

This was done she seemed to be satisfied. Geoffrey 
whipped the ladder away and the woman emerged from 
the room. Once more she went along the corridor with 
firm, resolute step, and the air of one who knows what 
she is doing and has a definite object in view. 

From one bed-room to another she went, leaving a 
wire in each until every room occupied by one of the 
Ravenspur family had been visited. Geoffrey’s room was 
the last. When she had finished here she took up a pair 
of scissors and tapped the wire. Outside the door Geof- 
frey and Ralph could hear the noise distinctly. 

Ralph’s jaws came together with a click. 

‘The key is outside your room door,” he whispered. 
“Turn it.” 

Geoffrey wondered, but he hastened to comply. The 
key turned with an ease and silence that testified to the 
fact of its having been carefully oiled. 

“What does it all mean ?” Geoffrey whispered. 

“She is going to test her machinery,” said Ralph with 
a chuckle. “And she is going one step farther to her 
own destruction. Listen.” 

Again came the faint tap, and then down from far 
below the purring jar of electrical apparatus in motion. 
There was silence inside the room for a moment and then 
Geoffrey saw the handle turn. It was turned softly at 
first, then more quickly, and finally it was tugged as an 
angry child snatches at a toy. 

Ralph chuckled. The diabolical mirth seemed to come 
deep from his throat. 

“She is trying to get out,” Geoffrey whispered. 

“Of course she is,” Ralph replied. “But not quite yet.” 

The lock was rattling loudly by this time; there was 
a half-angry, half-frightened muttering from within. 
And then there came a long, piercing, wailing scream, as 
of a woman in the last agony before death. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 247 

Geoffrey would have started back, but Ralph restrained 
him. 

“No, no,” he whispered violently. “It is all right; 
everything is turning out splendidly.” 

“But she is a woman and in deadly peril, uncle.” 

“I know it, lad. Five minutes more and that fiend will 
be beyond further mischief. She has been trying the 
effect of her infernal contrivance and will be hoist with 
her own petard. She is scared to death. She imagines 
she has fastened herself in and can’t get out.” 

“But this is murder,” Geoffrey cried. 

“I dare say some people would call it so,” Ralph re- 
plied coolly. “As a matter of fact, there never could be 
homicide more justifiable than to let that woman perish 
there. Still, we are not going to do anything of the kind. 
When those cries cease, and you hear yonder wretch fall 
to the ground, then open the door and drag her out.” 

The cries were coming wildly from behind the door; 
there was a hammering on the panels. The cries rang 
through the house, they reached the Asiatics in the vaults 
and the latter fled in terror into the night. 

Something had happened, but what it was they did not 
care. They had only themselves to think of. 

In spite of his strong nerves, Geoffrey shuddered. It 
was horrible to be alone in that grim house of tears, 
waiting in the darkness, opposed by grim horrors and, 
above all, to have that note of agony ringing in his ears. 

Would it never stop? Would the time to act never 
come ? Geoffrey would have interfered in spite of every- 
thing but for the fact that Ralph was gripping his 
shoulder in a grasp that at any other time would have 
been painful. 

Suddenly the noise ceased. There was a moan and the 
soft, crushing fall of a body. Ralph’s face blazed up 
instantly. 

“Now,” he cried, “there is no time to be lost.” 

Geoffrey darted forward. He had the door opened in 


248 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


an instant. Mrs. May lay still and white on the floor. 
The atmosphere of the room seemed to have vanished. 
It was intolerable to breathe there; air there was none. 

As the door fell back the room filled as with a sudden 
strong draught. Geoffrey dragged the unconscious figure 
into the corridor. 

‘‘Will she die?’’ he gasped. 

“No, she will not die,” Ralph said coolly. “Had I 
intended her to die I should not have allowed you to 
open the door. Pick her up and throw her on one of 
the beds in a spare room. She will require no attention, 
but she will not attain consciousness for some hours. 
And, after that, she will be useless for a day or two. You 
need not worry; our scheme is working out splendidly. 
Pick her up.” 

Ralph indicated the still figure with brutal indifference. 
He would have shown more consideration to a sick dog. 
Geoffrey complied, and presently made the woman as 
comfortable as circumstances allowed. 

Geoffrey had hardly done so before there was a light 
footfall in the corridor, and Tchigorsky appeared, still 
in disguise. 

“I gather that things are well,” he said. “Just now 
I met that she-devil’s accomplices fleeing as if the Father 
of Lies was behind them. She was trapped, eh ?” 

Ralph nodded and chuckled. 

“In Geoffrey’s room,” he explained. “When she was 
testing her apparatus I had the key turned on her. And 
she could not get out. I let her remain there as long as 
I considered it safe to do so, and her yells must have 
alarmed her confederates. Probably they have fled, leav- 
ing things intact.” 

“Probably,” said Tchigorsky. “I will go and see.” 

He was back again presently, a pleased expression on 
his face. 

“Nothing has been touched,” he said. “I have removed 
the wires, in case of danger. We have the lady more or 
less under our thumb.” 


^THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 249 

‘AVhat was she doing?” Geoffrey asked. 

‘Tt is an appliance for exhausting air,” Tchigorsky 
explained. “You take a powder and place it on a hot 
plate. Directly it begins to burn it draws up all the air. 
The thing has been known in the East for thousands of 
years. Mrs. May applied electricity to give her greater 
scope. A plate of the powder was to be heated in the 
room of everybody in the castle when asleep. 

“A few minutes and the thing is done. Then the wires 
are withdrawn and gradually the different rooms fill with 
air again. The burnt powder leaves no trace. Then you 
are all found dead in your beds and nobody knows how 
it is done. The wires are easily drawn back to the bat- 
tery and the whole thing is destroyed.” 

Geoffrey shuddered. 

“What a fiend!” 


CHAPTER XLVI 


NEARING THE END 

It was some time before any one spoke. Geoffrey was 
turning the whole matter over in his mind. He was still 
puzzled. 

‘T don’t understand it,” he said. ‘'Of course, I follow 
all you say, and I see the nature of the plot intended 
to end us all at one fell swoop. But why do you want 
to have that woman under the roof?” 

“Because so long as she is under the roof she is com- 
paratively harmless,” Tchigorsky explained. “The 
princess is hot and vengeful and passionate, but she 
has her vein of caution and will take no unnecessary 
risks. She will be bewildered and will not know whether 
she had been suspected or not. The more cordial to her 
you are the more suspicious she will be. Of course, she 
will make up some plausible tale to account for her 
intrusion, and, of course, you must pretend to believe it. 
It will be impossible to move her for a day or two, and 
here I come in.” 

“In what way?” Geoffrey asked. 

“In the way of having a free hand,” Tchigorsky said, 
with a smile. “The princess will be cut off from her 
allies, and I shall be able to ransack her private papers 
for one thing.” 

Geoffrey nodded. He began to see the force of 
Tchigorsky ’s clever scheme. And then the cold solitude 
of the house struck him. For a moment he had forgotten 
all about the family still on the beach and the agony they 
were suffering on his account. 

250 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 251 

suppose you can do no more to-night ?” he asked. 

^T am not so sure of that,” Tchigorsky said dryly. 
“Meanwhile I can safely rest for an hour or so. I am 
going to lie hidden in Ralph’s bedroom for the present 
and smoke his tobacco. Do you want anything ?” 

“I should like to relieve the minds of my friends,” said 
Geoffrey. 

“That of course,” Tchigorsky responded. “Go at 
once. You were picked up by a passing boat — or yacht — 
that landed you at Manby. You walked back and when 
you got home to change your clothes you found the place 
deserted. Don’t say anything as to Mrs. May. Your 
Uncle Ralph will have that story to tell when you return. 
You are not to know anything about Mrs. May.” 

“All right,” Geoffrey said cheerfully. “Now I’ll be off.” 

He made his way down the cliffs unseen. There were 
lanterns flitting about the shore ; he could see the flash of 
Marion’s white dress and Vera by her side. He came 
gently alongside them. 

“Vera,” he said. “What is all this about?” 

Vera turned and gave a cry. She was acting her part 
as well as possible, and the cry seemed genuine. But 
the tears in her eyes were tears of thankfulness that the 
sufferings of those dear to her were ended. She clung 
to her lover ; her lips pressed his. 

Marion stood there white and still as a statute. The 
girl seemed to be frozen. Geoffrey’s touch thawed her 
into life again. 

“Geoffrey!” she screamed, “Geoffrey! Thank God, 
thank God! Never again will I ” 

With another scream that rang high and clear, the girl 
fell unconscious at his feet. He raised her up tenderly 
as the others came rushing forward. There was a babel 
of confused cries, hoarse cheers, and yells of delight. 
The villagers were running wild along the sands. Scores 
of men pressed eagerly round to shake Geoffrey’s hand. 

“I was picked up by a yacht,” he said. “Of course I 
know there was foul play. I know all about the broken 


252 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


mast and the sawn oars. You may rest assured I will 
take more care another time. And I was 

Geoffrey was going to say that he had been warned, 
but he checked himself in time. His progress toward 
home was more or less a royal one. It touched him to 
see how glad people were. He had not imagined a popu- 
.larity like this. 

Vera clung fondly to his arm; Rupert Ravenspur 
walked proudly on the other side. Not once had the 
old man showed the slightest sign of breaking down, but 
he came perilously near to it at the present time. Marion 
held to him trembling. She felt it almost impossible to 
drag herself along. 

‘‘You are quaking from head to foot,’’ said Ravenspur. 

“I am,” Marion admitted. “And at the risk of increas- 
ing your displeasure I should say you are very little bet- 
ter, dear grandfather. I fear the shock of seeing Geof- 
frey after all this fearful suspense has been too much 
for you.” 

Ravenspur admitted the fact. He was glad to find 
himself at home again, glad to be rid of the rocking, 
cheering crowd outside, and glad to see Geoffrey opposite 
him. Marion, pale as death, had dropped into a chair. 

“I am going to give you all some wine,” said Geoffrey. 
“You need it. Please do not let us discuss my adventure 
any more. Let us drop the subject.” 

Ralph glided in, feeling his way into the room. He 
congratulated Geoffrey as coolly as he would have done 
in the most trite circumstances. He was acting his part 
in his own wooden; stupid way. 

“I also have had my adventures,” he croaked. 

“I hope the castle is all right,” Ravenspur observed. 

“The same idea occurred to me,” Ralph went on. “One 
so affiicted as myself could not be of much service on the 
beach, so I came back to the castle. It occurred to me 
as possible that our enemy would take advantage of the 
place being deserted. So I passed the time wandering 
about the corridors. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 253 

“A little time ago I heard a violent commotion and 
screaming outside Geoffrey’s room. I got to the spot as 
soon as possible, but when I arrived the noise had ceased. 
Then I stumbled over the body of a woman.” 

‘‘Woman?” Ravenspur cried. “Impossible!” 

“Not in the least,” Ralph said coolly. “I picked her up, 
she was unconscious. My medical knowledge, picked up 
in all parts of the world, told me that the woman was 
suffering from some physical shock. That she was not 
in any danger her steady pulse showed. I placed her 
on the bed in the blue room.” 

“And there she is now ?” Marion exclaimed. 

“So far as I know,” Ralph replied. “What she was 
doing here I haven’t the slightest idea.” 

“And you don’t know who she is?” Mrs. Gordon asked. 

“How should I? I am blind. I should say that the 
woman was up to no good here; but I dare say it is 
possible that she has some decent excuse. On the other 
hand, she might be one of our deadly foes. Anyway, 
there she is, and there she is likely to be for some time 
to come.” 

Marion rose to her feet. 

“Uncle Ralph,” she said, “I feel that I could shake 
you. Have you no feeling ?” 

“We can’t all have your tender heart,” Ralph said 
meekly. 

Marion ignored the compliment. She took up the 
decanter and poured out a glass of wine. ^ 

“I am going upstairs at once,” she said. “Enemy or 
no enemy, the poor creature cannot be neglected. You 
need not come, Vera.” 

Vera, too, had risen to her feet. She was not going 
to be put aside. 

“But I am coming,” she said. “I will not allow you 
to go up those stairs alone. And Geoffrey shall accom- 
pany us.” 

Marion said no more. She seemed strangely anxious 
and restless. 


254 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


Geoffrey followed with a lamp in his hands. Mrs. May 
lay quietly there, breathing regularly and apparently in 
a deep sleep. 

Marion bent over the bed. As she did so she gasped 
and the color left her face. She fell away with a cry 
like fear. 

‘‘Oh,'' she shuddered. “Oh, it is Mrs. May !" 

Vera bent over the bed. She unfastened the dress at 
the throat. 

“What does it matter?" she said. “I know you don't 
like the woman, but she is suffering. Marion, where are 
your tender feelings?" 

Marion said nothing. But she came directly to Vera's 
side. And Geoffrey glancing at Marion's rigid white 
face wondered what it all meant. 


CHAPTER XLVII 


TCHIGORSKY FURTHER EXPLAINS 

‘T donT quite follow it yet/’ said Geoffrey. 

‘‘And yet it is simple/’ Tchigorsky replied. “Here is 
a form of electric battery in the vault connected by tiny 
wires to every sleeping chamber occupied by a Ravenspur. 
In each of these bed-rooms a powder is deposited some- 
where and the wire leads to it. At a certain time, when 
you are all asleep, the current is switched on, the powder 
destroyed without leaving the slightest trace, and in the 
morning you are all as dead as if you had been placed in 
a lethal chamber — as a matter of fact, they would have 
been lethal chambers. 

“Almost directly, by means of the chimneys, etc., the 
rooms would begin to draw a fresh supply of air, and 
by the time you were discovered everything would be 
normal again. Then the battery would be removed and 
the wires withdrawn without even the trouble of entering 
the rooms to fetch them. Then exit the whole family 
of Ravenspur, leaving behind a greater mystery than 
ever. Now do you understand what it all means?” 

Geoffrey nodded and shuddered. 

“What do you propose to do ?” he asked. “Leave the 
battery where it is, and ” 

“Unless I am mistaken, the battery is removed al- 
ready,” said the Russian. 

He was correct. Investigation proved that the whole 
thing had been spirited away. 

“As I expected,” Tchigorsky muttered. “Done from 
the vaults under the sea, doubtless. That woman’s 
servants keep very close to her. It is wonderful how they 

255 


256 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


manage to slip about without being seen. They have 
ascertained that an accident has happened to their mis- 
tress, and they have removed signs of the conspiracy. 
But for the present they cannot remove their mistress.” 

Tchigorsky chuckled as he spoke. 

“You seem pleased over that,” said Geoffrey. 

“Of course I am, my boy. It enables one to do a little 
burglary without the chance of being found out. And 
you are to assist me. But I am not going to start on my 
errand before midnight ; so till then I shall stay here and 
smoke. At that hour you will please join me.” 

“I am to accompany you, then?” 

“Yes, you are going to be my confederate in crime.” 

Geoffrey joined the others downstairs. Delight and 
thankfulness were written on every face. Never had 
Geoffrey found his family so tender and loving. 

Usually, Marion had had her feelings under control, 
but to-night it seemed as if she could not make enough 
of her cousin. She hung over him, she lingered near 
him, until Vera laughingly proclaimed that jealousy was 
rendering her desperate. 

“I cannot help it,” Marion said half tearfully. “I am 
so glad. And if you only knew — ^but that does not mat- 
ter. I am beside myself with joy.” 

“I suppose that woman upstairs is all right,” Raven- 
spur said coldly. 

He was by no means pleased that Mrs. May should 
have intruded twice in that way. And each time there 
had been some accident. With so much sorrow weighing 
him down and with the shadow of further disaster ever 
haunting him, Ravenspur was naturally suspicious. 

It seemed absurd, no doubt, but that woman might be 
taking a hand against the family fortunes. The last 
occasion was bad enough, but this was many times worse. 
In the circumstances, as he pointed out, nothing could 
exceed the bad taste of this intrusion into a deserted 
house. 

“She may not have known it,” Mrs. Gordon said 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 257, 

quietly. ‘‘Who knows but that she had discovered some 
plot against us and had come to warn us? Perhaps the 
enemy divined her intentions — hence the accident.’^ 

“But was it an accident ?’’ Geoffrey asked. 

“Something mysterious, like everything that occurs to 
us,^’ his wife replied. “At any rate, she is breathing 
regularly and quietly now, and her skin is moist and cool. 
Ralph said he had seen something like it in India before. 
He is convinced that she will be all right in the morning. 
Don’t be angry, father.” 

Rupert Ravenspur constrained himself to smile. 

“I will not forget what is due to my position and my 
hospitality, my dear,” he said. “After Geoffrey’s mirac- 
ulous escape, after the heavy cloud of sorrow so un- 
expectedly raised, I cannot feel it in my heart to be angry 
with anybody. How did you manage to get away, 
Geoffrey ?” 

Geoffrey told his tale again. It was not nice to be 
compelled to invent facts in the face of an admiring 
family ; but then the truth could not have been told with- 
out betraying Tchigorsky and blowing all his delicate 
schemes to the winds. He was not sorry when he had 
finished. 

Marion wiped the tears from her eyes. 

“It was Providence,” she said. “Nothing more nor 
less.” 

“Little doubt of it,” Gordon murmured. “Geoff, have 
you any suspicions ?” 

“I know who did it, if that is what you mean,” Geof- 
frey said, “and so does Marion.” 

The girl started. Her nerves were in such a pitiable 
condition that any little thing set them vibrating like 
the strings of a rudely handled harp. 

“If I did I should have spoken,” she said. 

“Then you have not guessed ?” Geoffrey smiled. “The 
masts and the sculls were sawn by a girl in a blue dress 
and red tam-o’-shanter cap. The girl who is so like — — ” 

He did not complete the sentence ; there was something 


258 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


in Marion’s speaking eyes that asked him not to do so. 
Why he could not tell ; but there was nothing to be gained 
by what was little less than a breach of confidence. 

“What does it mean, Marion ?” Ravenspur asked. 

“Geoffrey and I saw such a girl not long before Geoff 
set out on his eventful voyage,” Marion explained quietly. 
All the fear had gone out of her eyes ; she met the gaze 
of the speaker tranquilly. “She passed me as I was 
painting; I have been close to her once before. But I 
don’t understand why Geoff is so certain that the mys- 
terious visitor tried to drown him.” 

“I’ve no proof,” Geoffrey replied. “It is merely an 
instinct.” 

As a matter of fact, he had plenty of proof. Had he 
not seen the girl hastening away from his boat ? Had he 
not seen her return after the boat had been beached and 
mourn over the wreck like some creature suffering from 
deep remorse? 

But of this he could say nothing. To speak of it would 
be to betray the fact that Tchigorsky was still alive and 
active in pursuit of the foe. 

“That woman can be found,” Ravenspur said sternly. 

“I doubt it,” said Geoffrey. “She has a way of dis- 
appearing that is remarkable. You see her one moment 
and the next she has vanished. But I am certain that she 
is at the bottom of the mischief.” 

And Geoffrey refused to say more. As a matter of 
fact, nobody seemed to care to hear anything further. 
They were worn out with anxiety and exertion. They 
had had little food that day; the weary hours on the 
beach had exhausted them. 

“For the present we can rest and be thankful,” Raven- 
spur said as he rose to go. “We can sleep with easy 
minds to-night.” 

They moved off after him, all but Geoffrey and Vera. 
Mrs. Gordon could still be heard moving about one of 
the drawing rooms. Marion had slipped off unobserved. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 259 

She hardly felt equal to bidding Geoffrey good-night. 
The tender smile was still on her face as she crept 
upstairs. 

Then when she reached her room it faded away. She 
flung herself across the bed and burst into a passionate 
fit of weeping. And then gradually she sobbed herself 
into a heavy yet uneasy slumber. 

‘‘Well, I suppose I must go, too?” Vera said, tired 
out, yet reluctant to leave her lover. Tell me what it 
means, Geoff?” 

“Have I not already explained to you, darling?” 

“Yes, but I don’t believe one word of it,” Vera replied. 
A kiss sufficed to wash the bitterness of the candor away. 
“I don’t believe you were picked up by a yacht. I don’t 
believe that you were in any danger. I don’t under- 
stand it.” 

“Then we are both in the same state of benighted 
ignorance,” Geoffrey smiled. “You are right not to be- 
lieve me, dearest, but I had to tell the story and I had 
to play a part. It is all in the desperate game we are 
playing against our secret foe. For the present I am a 
puppet in the hands of abler men than myself. What 
I am doing will go far to set us free later.” 

Vera sighed gently. She sidled closer to her lover. 
Mrs. Gordon was coming out of the drawing room, a 
sign that Vera would have to go. 

“I feel that I don’t want to part with you again,” she 
whispered, her eyes looking into his and her arm about 
him. “I feel as if I had nearly lost you. And if I did 
lose you, darling, what would become of me ?” 

Geoffrey kissed the quivering lips tenderly. 

“Have no fear, sweetheart,” he said; “all is coming 
right. See how those people have been frustrated over 
and over again. They have come with schemes worthy 
of Satan himself and yet they have failed. And it has 
been so arranged that those failures seem to be the result 
of vexatious accident. But they are not. And they will 


26 o the mystery of THE RAVENSPURS 


fail again and again until the net is around them and 
we shall be free. Darling, you are to sleep in peace 
to-night.” 

With a last fond embrace Vera slipped from her 
lover’s side. She smiled at him brightly from the door- 
way and was gone. Geoffrey lighted a cigarette that 
presently dropped from his fingers and his head fell 
forward. 

He started suddenly; the cigarette smelt pungently as 
it singed the carpet. Somebody was whispering his name ; 
somebody was calling him from the stairs. Then he 
recognized Ralph’s croaking voice. 

‘‘Tchigorsky,” he muttered sleepily. ‘T had forgotten 
that Tchigorsky wanted me.” 


CHAPTER XLVIII 


MORE FROM THE PAST 

Tchigorsky was waiting. The room was pregnant with 
the perfume of Turkish cigarettes and coffee. Ralph 
handed a cup to his nephew. 

“Drink that/’ he said. “You want something to keep 
you awake.” 

Geoffrey accepted the coffee gratefully. It had the 
desired effect. He felt the clouds lifting from his brain 
and the drowsy heaviness of limb leaving him. 

“Are you coming with us?” he asked. 

Ralph shook his head. There was a strange gleam 
on his face. 

“I stay here,” he said. “You are going to be busy, 
but I also have much to do. Don’t be concerned for me. 
Blind as I am, I am capable of taking care of myself. 
I shall have a deal to tell you in the morning.” 

A minute or two later and the two conspirators slipped 
away. It struck Geoffrey as strange that they should 
not leave the house in the usual way; but Tchigorsky 
grimly explained that he much preferred using the ivy 
outside Ralph’s window. 

“Always be on the safe side,” Tchigorsky muttered. 
“Come along.” 

Geoffrey followed. Where Tchigorsky could go he 
felt competent to follow. They reached the ground in 
safety and later were in the road. The moon had gone 
and it was intensely dark, but Geoffrey knew the way 
perfectly. 

“Straight to Jessop’s farm?” he asked. 

“As far as the lawn,” Tchigorsky replied. “It will be 
261 


262 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

a good hour yet before we can venture to carry out our 
burglary. I can run no risks until I know that those two 
Asiatics are out of the way. What time is it ?” 

“About ten minutes to twelve.” 

Tchigorsky muttered that the time was not quite suit- 
able for him. He drew a watch from his pocket; there 
was a stifled whirr of machinery, and the repeater’s rapid 
pulse beat twelve with the silvery chime of a quarter 
after the hour. 

“You are wrong,” he said. “You see it is between 
a quarter and half-past twelve. We will lie on Jessop’s 
lawn till one o’clock and then all will be safe.” 

They lay there waiting for the time to pass. The 
minutes seemed to be weighted. “Tell me some more of 
your Lassa adventures,” Geoffrey asked. 

“Very well,” Tchigorsky replied. “Where did I leave 
off? Ah, we had just been tortured on that awful grill. 
And we had been offered our lives on condition that we 
consented to be hopeless idiots for the rest of our days. 

“Well, we were not going to live in these circum- 
stances, you may be sure. For the next few days we 
were left to our own resources in a dark dungeon with 
the huge rats and vermin for company. We were half 
starved into the bargain, and when we were brought into 
the light once more they naturally expected submission. 

“But they didn’t get it. They did not realize the stuff 
we were made of. And they had no idea we were armed. 
We had our revolvers and concealed in our pockets were 
some fifty rounds of ammunition. If the worst came to 
the worst we should not die without a struggle. 

“Well, there was a huge palaver over us before the 
priests in the big temple, with Zara on her throne, and 
a fine, impressive scene it was, or, at least, it would have 
been had we not been so interested as to our own imme- 
diate future. At any rate, it was a comfort to know 
that there were no more tortures for the present, for 
nothing of the kind was to be seen. We were going to 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 263 

die ; we could read our sentence in the eyes of the priests 
long before the elaborate mummery was over. 

“I tell you it seemed hard to perish like that just at 
the time when we had penetrated nearly all the secrets 
we had come in search of. And it was no less hard to 
know that if the princess had postponed her visit another 
week she would have been too late. By that time we 
should have left Lassa far behind. 

‘The trial or ceremony, or whatever you like to call 
it, came to an end at length, and then we were brought up 
to the throne of the princess. You know the woman, you 
have looked upon the beauty and fascination of her face ; 
but you have no idea how different she was in the home 
of her people. She looked a real queen, a queen from 
head to foot. We stood awed before her. 

“ ‘You have been offered terms and refused them,’ she 
said. ‘It is now too late.’ 

“‘We could not trust you,’ I replied boldly; we had 
nothing to gain by politeness. ‘Better anything than the 
living death you offered us. And we can only die once.’ 

“The princess smiled in her blood-curdling way. 

“ ‘You do not know what you are talking about,’ she 
said. “Ah, you will find out when you come to walk the 
Black Valley!’ 

“She gave a sign and we were led away unbound. A 
quaint wailing music filled the air ; the priests were sing- 
ing our funeral song. I never fully appreciated the 
refined cruelty of reading the burial service to a criminal 
on his way to the scaffold till then. It makes me shudder 
to think of it even now. 

“They led us out into the open air, still crooning that 
dirge. They brought us at length to the head of a great 
valley between huge towering mountains, as if the Alps 
had been sliced in two and a narrow passage made be- 
tween them. At the head of this passage was a door 
let into the cliff and down through this door they thrust 
us. It was dark inside. For the first part of the way, 


264 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 

till we reached the floor of the valley, we were to be 
accompanied by four priests, a delicate attention to pre- 
vent us from breaking our necks before we reached the 
bottom. But our guides did not mean us to perish so 
mercifully. 

“ ‘Listen to me,’ Zara cried, ‘listen for the last time. 
You are going into the Black Valley; of its horror and 
dangers you know nothing as yet. But you will soon 
learn. Take comfort in the fact that there is an exit at 
the far end if you can find it. When you are out of the 
exit you are free. Thousands have walked this valley, 
and over their dry bones you will make your way. Out 
of these thousands one man escaped. Perhaps you will 
be as fortunate. Farewell !’ 

“The door clanged behind us, and we were alone with 
the priests. We could not see, we could only feel our 
way down those awful cliffs, where one false step would 
have smashed us to pieces. But the priests never hesi- 
tated. Down, down we went until we reached the bottom. 
There we could just see dimly. 

“ ‘You could guide us through?’ I asked. 

“One of the priests nodded. He could save us if he 
liked. Not that I was going to waste my breath by 
asking him. They were priests of a minor degree ; there 
were thousands of them about the temple, all alike as 
peas in a pod. If these men failed to return they would 
never be missed. A desperate resolution came to me. 
In a few English whispered words I conveyed it to Ralph 
Ravenspur. 

“We still had a priest on either side of us. At a given 
signal we produced our revolvers, and before the priests 
had the remotest idea what had happened two of them 
were dead on the ground, shot through the brain. When 
the thousand and one echoes died away we each had our 
man by the throat. What did we care if the plot was 
discovered or not ! We were both desperate. 

“ ‘Listen, dog,’ I cried. ‘You have seen your com- 
panions perish. If you would escape a similar death, you 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 265 


will bear us to safety. You shall walk ten paces in front, 
and if you try to evade us you die, for our weapons carry 
farther than you can run in the space of two minutes. 
Well, are you going to convey us to a place of safety, 
or shall we shoot you like the others T ’’ 

Tchigorsky paused and pulled at his watch. He drew 
back the catch and the rapid little pulse beat one. 

Then he rose to his feet. 

“To be continued in our next,” he said. “The time 
has come to act. Follow me and betray no surprise at 
anything you may see or hear.” 

“You can rely upon me,” Geoffrey whispered. 
“Lead on.” 


CHAPTER XLIX 


RALPH TAKES CHARGE 

The troubled house had fallen asleep at last. They 
were all used to the swooping horrors; they could recall 
the black times spread out over the weary years; they 
could vividly recollect how one trouble after another had 
happened. 

And it had been an eventful day. For the last few 
hours they had lived a fresh tragedy. True, the tragedy 
itself had been averted, but for some time there had been 
the agony of the real thing. The Ravenspurs, exhausted 
by the flood of emotion, had been glad of rest. 

They were presumably asleep now, all but Ralph. Long 
after deep silence had fallen on the house he sat alone 
in the darkness. The glow of his pipe just touched his 
inscrutable features and a faint halo of light played^ about 
his grizzled head. A mouse nibbling behind the panels 
sounded clear as the crack of a pistol shot. The big 
stable clock boomed two. 

Ralph laid aside his pipe and crept to the door. He 
opened it silently and passed out into the corridor. A 
cat would not have made less noise. Yet he moved 
swiftly and confidently, as one who has eyes to see 
familiar ground. He came at kngth to the room where 
Mrs. May was lying. 

She had been made fairly comfortable. Her dress had 
been loosened at the throat, but she still wore the clothes 
in which she had been dressed at the time of her accident. 

Later she would perhaps find it difficult to account 
for masquerading in the castle in that strange guise. That 
she would have some ingenious plea to put forward 
266 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 267 

Ralph felt certain. But the dress was another matter. 
Ralph grinned to himself as he thought of it. 

There was a light in the room. He could tell that by 
the saffron glow that touched lightly on his sightless 
eyeballs. He knew the disposition of the room as well 
as if he could see it. He felt his way across until he 
came to the bed on which the woman lay. 

His hand touched her throat — a gentle touch — yet his 
fingers crooked and a murderous desire blossomed like a 
rose in his heart. Nobody was about and nobody would 
know. Who could connect the poor blind man with the 
deed? Why not end her life now? 

“Far better,” Ralph muttered. “It would have been 
no crime to shoot her like a dog. Yet fancy hanging 
for such a creature as that!” 

The grim humor of the suggestion restored Ralph to 
himself. His relaxed fingers just touched the cold throat 
and face. He could hear the sound of regular breathing. 
From a tiny phial he took two or three drops of some 
dark cordial and brushed them over the woman’s rigid 
lips. She stirred faintly. 

“Justijas well to hasten events,” he muttered. “One 
cannot afford to play with the thing.” 

He replaced the bottle in his pocket. He drew himself 
up listening. Other ears could not have heard a sound. 
Ralph could plainly hear footsteps. But how near they 
were he could not tell. His brows contracted with 
annoyance. 

“So soon,” he muttered. “I did not expect this.” 

He dropped down between the bed and the wall. Then 
he crawled under the deep valance. He had not long to 
wait. Somebody had crept into the room, somebody light 
of foot and light of body who crossed to the bed. And 
this somebody shook the sleeping figure with passionate 
force. 

“Wake up !” a voice said. “Oh, will you never 
wake up?” 

The listener smiled. He could hear the figure of his 


268 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


arch-enemy stirring uneasily. She muttered something 
and once more was passionately shaken. 

'‘What is the matter she muttered. "Where am I ?” 

"Here, in the castle. Don’t you remember?” 

Pause for a moment. Ralph was listening intently. 

"I begin to recollect. There was an accident ; the door 
refused to open; I fought for my life as long as I could 
before the fumes overcame me, and I gave myself up 
for lost. Oh, it was something to remember, Marion,” 
muttered Mrs. May. 

Marion, for it was she, made no reply. She was crying 
quietly. 

"What is the matter with the girl?” the woman asked 
irritably. 

"Oh, it is good for you to ask me that question,” said 
Marion, "after all the bitter trouble and humiliation you 
have put upon me. Get up and follow me.” 

"I cannot. The thing is impossible. You forget that 
I have been almost dead. My limbs are paralyzed. I 
shall not be able to walk for at least two days. I must 
remain like a dog here. But there is no hurry. What 
happened ?” 

"I can’t tell; I don’t know. You were found in the 
corridor, I am told, insensible. When they came back 
to the castle they found you lying here. They had all 
been down on the beach searching for Geoffrey.” 

The woman laughed. It was a laugh to chill the blood. 

"I hope they found him,” she said. 

"Oh, yes, they found him,” Marion said quietly. 

"Drowned, with a placid smile on his face, after the 
fashion of the novel?” 

"No, very much alive. You failed. Geoffrey Raven- 
spur is here safe and sound. On my knees I have 
thanked God for it.” 

The woman muttered something that the listener failed 
to catch. She seemed to be suppressing a tendency to a 
violent outburst. 

"I will not fail next time,” she said. "And you are 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 269 

a love-sick, soft-hearted, sentimental fool. All this time 
I have to remain here. But, at any rate, I have you to 
do my bidding. Put your hand in my breast pocket and 
you will find a key.” 

‘‘Well, what am I to do with it?” 

“You are to go to my rooms at Jessop's farm at once. 
They will be fast asleep, so that you need not be afraid. 
Jessop’s people have the slumber that comes of a tired 
body and an easy conscience. But there are foes about 
and it is not well to trust to anybody. 

“If I am to remain here for a day or two I must have 
certain things. In my sitting room, by the side of the 
fireplace, is a black iron box. Open it with the key I 
have given you and bring the casket to me. You can 
get into my sitting room by gently raising the window, 
which is not fastened. They are so honest in these parts 
that people don’t fasten their windows. Now go.” 

“You are sure you cannot get up?” 

“Certain. I have been drugged and it will be some 
time before I am able to get about. That is why I am 
anxious to have the box. Young Ravenspur would never 
have got away had he had no friends to assist him or 
a simple fool to give him warning.” 

“The fool you speak of does not regret it.” 

“Perhaps not. How did he escape ?” 

“In the simplest possible way. He was picked up by 
a passing yacht.” 

“Well, accidents will happen,” the woman muttered. 
“Now do my bidding. The heavy drugged sleep is com- 
ing upon me again, and I shall not be able to keep my 
eyes open much longer. Go at once.” 

As Marion crept away Ralph could catch her heavy 
indrawn breath and the sobs that seemed to burst from 
her overcharged heart. Then he knew that the woman 
was asleep again. 

A minute or two later and he was standing in the 
hall. He waited in shadow^, silent and patient. The 
stairs creaked slightly and a stealthy footstep came 
creeping down. 


CHAPTER L 


A KIND UNCLE 

Ralph crept toward the door. Marion came close to 
him, her hands fumbling nervously with the bolts and 
bars. Some of the bars were heavy, and Marion was fear- 
ful lest they should fall with a clang and betray her. 

Ralph stretched out his hand and drew back a bolt. 

“Allow me to assist you,” he said. “I am used to this 
kind of work.” 

A scream rose to Marion’s lips, but she suppressed it. 
The effort set her trembling from head to foot. Yet it 
seemed to her that there was no cause to be frightened, 
for she had never heard' Ralph’s voice so kind before. 

“Uncle,” she stammered, “what are you doing here?” 

By way of reply Ralph opened the door. He gave the 
sign for Marion to precede him, and then followed her 
out into the night. The heavy door closed behind him. 

“I might with equal justice ask you the same question,” 
he said. “Nay, more; because you are merely a young 
girl and I am a man. And you know I don’t sleep like 
most virtuous people. I suffer from insomnia and never 
sleep for long anywhere. Perhaps I am like the cat who 
prowls about all night and slumbers in the daytime. But 
where are you going?” 

“Uncle Ralph, I cannot tell you. It is a secret. If you 
knew everything you would pity me.” 

There was a deepening ring in Marion’s voice. Ralph 
caressed her hand tenderly. 

“Don’t trouble,” he said. “I know.” 

“You know where I am going. You — you know!” 

“Certainly I do. I know everything, my dear.” 

270 


THE jMYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 271 

‘^Not everything, uncle. Not of my connection with 
that woman, for instance.’' 

“Indeed I do, Marion.” 

“You are aware of our relationship ! You know that !” 

“My dear child, I have known it for years. But your 
secret is safe with me. I am not going to betray you. 
Could I have the heart to do so after all you have done 
for my family? Angel Marion.” 

He repeated the last words over and over again in a 
low, caressing voice, pressing the girl’s hand softly as 
he did so. Even then Marion was not sure whether he 
was in earnest or whether he was grimly ironical. 

“I never thought of this,” Marion murmured. 

“Perhaps not,” Ralph replied. 'Mrs. May is a bad 
woman, Marion.” 

“The worst in the world,” Marion replied. “You only 
know her as Mrs. May ?” 

“I only know her as she is, dear. And yet I feel that 
in some vague kind of way she is mixed up with our 
family misfortunes. Oh, if I could only see, if I could 
only use my eyes. Then I might know that woman still 
better.” 

Marion shuddered at the steely, murderous tones. 
Ralph patted her hand reassuringly. 

“But you need not be afraid,” he said. “You are all 
right — the brightest angel in the world. You are torn 
by conflicting emotions ; you fancy your duty lies in cer- 
tain directions, and you are troubled over it. And yet 
it will come right in the end, Marion. We did not lose 
Geoffrey after all.” 

“Thank God, no. And yet there is plenty of time.” 

“There is ample time for the right as well as the 
wrong, Marion. But do not let us talk of the past any 
more, my dear. I am not going to pry into your secrets, 
and I know how far to trust you. Let me walk part of 
the way with you. I can wait by the barn till you 
return.” 

Marion raised no objection. It was the dead of night 


272 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


now and there was no fear of meeting anybody. Yet 
Marion started uneasily as Ralph began to whistle. She 
ventured to suggest that the noise was not prudent. 

‘Terhaps you are right/' Ralph said amicably. “At 
any rate I will wait here till your return. You have not 
far to go, of course?” 

“I have a very little way to go, uncle. I am going to 
Jessop’s farm.” 

Ralph nodded. The farm loomed up not far of¥. As 
Marion darted off Ralph lighted his pipe and whistled 
again. Something moved in the bushes. 

* * * * 

Meanwhile Tchigorsky and Geoffrey were nearing the 
window. Tchigorsky moved on resolutely and confidently 
with the air of a man who is sure of his ground. He put 
up his hand and fumbled for the catch. It gave at once 
and the pair of burglars slipped quietly into the room. 

“We shall be safe,” he said as he proceeded to strike 
a match. “It is just as well to take every precaution. 
What would the estimable Jessop say if he could see into 
his parlor?” 

Geoffrey smiled. 

“He’d be astonished,” he said, “a little dismayed, too. 
But he would say nothing so long as I am here. Jessop 
would stand on his head for me.” 

The strong rays of the lamp lighted up the room. 
There were flowers everywhere, dainty china on the table 
full of blooms, bowls filled with choicest fruits. Wines 
sparkled in the crystal goblets on the sideboard, a silver 
cigarette box was conspicuous, and on a safe lay an object 
to which Tchigorsky called his companion’s attention. 

“What do you make that out to be ?” he asked. 

Geoffrey picked up the drapery. On the top of it lay 
something red with a feather in it. It appeared to be a 
costume of some kind. As Geoffrey held it aloft a light 
gradually broke in upon him. 

“Well,” Tchigorsky asked, “have you solved the 
problem ?” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 273 

‘T have/’ Geoffrey replied. ‘Tt is the blue dress and 
tam-o’-shanter hat which have played so conspicuous a 
part lately. But what brings them here? Has Mrs. 
May a companion hidden somewhere, a companion who 
might be Marion’s sister?” 

“Seems like it,” Tchigorsky said with a dry smile. 
“But I am not going to enlighten you any further on 
that question at present. Mrs. May and the girl in the 
blue dress are two separate people, anyway.” 

“You forget that I have seen them together,” said 
Geoffrey. 

“I had forgotten that. Well, it won’t be long now 
before the identity of the lady in the smart dress and 
coquettish hat is established. Meanwhile we came here ^ ,, 
in search of something far more important than a. 
woman’s costume. Help me to turn out all those drawers, 
and be careful to replace everything exactly as you find 
it. We have a good three hours before us and much 
depends upon the result of our search. Keep a keen eye 
open for papers in any language that is unfamiliar to 
you.” 

For an hour the search proceeded and yet nothing 
came to light. There were plenty of bills, most of them 
emanating from West End establishments — accounts for 
dresses and flowers, boxes for theaters, and the like, but 
nothing more. 

Tchigorsky glanced keenly round the room. 

“I am afraid we shall be compelled to show our hand,” 
he said. “Mrs. May is so clever that I half expected to 
find private papers in some simple place, while an exam- 
ination of her safe would disclose nothing. She has not 
anticipated burglary and what I am looking for is in the 
safe.” 

“Dare you open it?” Geoffrey asked. 

“And show my hand, you mean? I fancy so. We are 
so near success now that it really does not matter. Put 
the safe on the table,” replied Tchigorsky. 

The heavy iron box slipped as Geoffrey raised it and 


274 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


clanged on the floor. An exclamation of anger and 
annoyance came from Tchigorsky and an apology from 
the younger man. They both stood upright for a few 
minutes listening intently. But the people upstairs were 
sleeping the sleep of the just. There came no answering 
sound. 

“Blessings upon the pure air and the high conscience 
that hold these people/' Tchigorsky muttered more 
amicably. “It’s all right, my young friend. Hoist up the 

box, and let us see if my little steel jimmy will have any 

effect. I would rather have had the key. It is never 
well to betray your plans if you can ” 

The speaker paused. From outside a little way off 
there arose a long, shrill scream, the cry of a woman in 
distress. The sound set Geoffrey’s blood leaping; he 
pushed for the window, but Tchigorsky detained him. 

“Where are you going?” he asked sternly. 

“Outside,” Geoffrey exclaimed. “A woman is there. 
She asks for assistance. Can you stand there calmly 
and see ” 

“See you making an ass of yourself, eh? My dear 

boy, on my word of honor there is no woman in danger 
yonder. In a measure I am glad to hear that cry, though 
it proves to me that our allies have not been so artistic 
over their work as they might have been. You will not 
hear that cry again.” 

“Perhaps not,” Geoffrey said, reassured considerably 
by Tchigorsky’s placid manner; “but I hear footsteps 
outside.” 

Tchigorsky smiled. He had taken some steel bits from 
his pocket, but he replaced them again. 

“If they are, then they are the footsteps of a friend,” 
he said. “This being so, there will be no need for me 
to give you lessons in the way not to open a safe. Are 
you right? It seems as if the window was opening.” 

The window was indeed opening. It moved half an 
inch, and then there was a “hist,” and something clanged 
on the floor. Tchigorsky took the matter as coolly as 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 275 

if it had all been arranged beforehand. He did not move 
as the window closed again and stealthy footsteps outside 
moved away. 

“It is all right?’’ Geoffrey asked. 

Tchigorsky smiled broadly. 

“Splendid!” he said. “It could not have been better. 
My boy, this is the night’s work which is going to crown 
our endeavors. Yonder we have the proofs, and here 
we have the means of getting them.” 

He picked the metallic object from the floor. He fitted 
it to the lock of the safe, and instantly a mass of queer 
things was discovered. Tchigorsky’s eyes gleamed as 
he saw this ; they positively flamed as he turned out a lot 
of papers. 

At the bottom was a book in metal covers. As 
Tchigorsky fluttered it open a cry broke from him. 

“Found!” he exclaimed, “found! We have them in 
the hollow of our hands.” 


CHAPTER LI 


‘Vhat does this mean?’' 

With less courage than she usually felt, Marion went 
on her way. Perhaps there was no more miserable being 
in England at that moment. It is hard to play a double 
part, hard to be thrust one way by cruel circumstances 
when the heart and soul are crying out to go the other. 

This was Marion’s position. And whichever way she 
went she was destined to be equally unhappy and miser- 
able. She had to help her relations; she had to try to 
shield that infamous woman at the same time. 

And now the great secret of her life had come to light. 
That was the bitterest trial of all. Vera had discovered 
that Marion loved Geoffrey. Ralph Ravenspur had made 
the same discovery long ago, but it did not matter so 
very much about him; Vera was different. 

And here she was in the dead of night carrying out the 
errand of the deadliest foe the house of Ravenspur had 
ever known. She was half inclined to throw the whole 
thing to the winds, to disappear and never return again. 
Why should she 

She stopped. Something was stirring in the bushes 
on either side of her. Perhaps it was a rabbit or a fox. 
Probably somebody had dogged her footsteps. 

“Who are you?” Marion cried. “Speak, or I call for 
help.” 

The threat was futile, considering the time of night. 
The bushes parted and two men appeared. Marion gave 
one loud scream, but before she could repeat the cry a 
hand was laid on her lips. 

Whoever they were, they were not unduly rough. The 
276 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 277 

hand that stayed further clamor was hard, but it was 
not cruel. 

'‘You are not to cry out again,” a voice whispered. “I 
will not injure you if you promise not to call out.” 

Marion indicated that she would comply with this 
suggestion. Immediately the hand fell from her lips. 

“This is an outrage,” she said. “Who are you ?” 

“That is beside the point,” was the reply. “It is an 
outrage, but we are not going to treat you badly. We 
are unfortunately compelled to keep you for some four- 
and-twenty hours from the custody of your friends, but 
you may rest assured that you will be treated with every 
consideration.” 

“I am your prisoner, then?” 

“Since you like to put it in that way, yes.” 

Marion was properly indignant. She pointed out that 
the course these men were pursuing was a criminal one, 
and that it was likely to lead them into trouble. 

But she might have been speaking to the winds. If 
she could only see these people ! She had not the remotest 
idea what they were like. The man who spoke was evi- 
dently a gentleman; his companion seemed like a work- 
ing man — a sailor by his walk. And yet it was impossible 
to see the faces of either. 

“Where are you going to take me?” Marion asked. 

“We are going to conduct you to one of the caves,” 
was the reply. “Unfortunately no house is available for 
our purpose, or we should not put you to this incon- 
venience. But we have made every preparation for your 
comfort, and you are not likely to suffer for want of food 
or anything of that kind. And I pledge you my word of 
honor that you shall not be detained a minute beyond 
the specified time.” 

He touched Marion on the arm to indicate a forward 
movement. 

“I suppose it is of no use to ask your name,” Marion 
said coldly. 

“I have no objection,” said the other, “The time is 


278 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


coming when it will be necessary to speak very plainly 
indeed. My name is George Abell, and I am secretary 
to Dr. Sergius Tchigorsky. My friend’s name is Elphick. 
He was at one time a servant in the employ of one of 
your family.” 

“Tchigorsky?” Marion cried. “But he is dead.” 

“That seems to be the popular impression,” Abell said 
gravely. 

The words appeared to strike a chill in Marion. She 
began to comprehend that all her sacrifices had been 
made in vain. 

“Tchigorsky not dead?” she said hoarsely. 

“No,” said Abell. “I saw him a little time ago. It 
will perhaps not surprise you to hear that I am acting 
under his orders.” 

“But he could not know that I ” 

“Dr. Tchigorsky seems to divine matters. He seems 
to know what people will do almost by instinct. He is a 
wonderful man and does wonderful things. But I cannot 
tell you any more; I am merely acting under orders.” 

He indicated the way and Marion proceeded without 
further protest. She felt like a condemned criminal when 
the sentence is pronounced. Certain things were coming 
to an end. A long period of suspense and anxiety was 
nearly finished. How it was going to end Marion neither 
knew nor cared. But she did know that the woman who 
was known as Mrs. May was doomed. 

Not another word passed until the foot of the cliffs 
was reached. It was no easy matter to get down in the 
dark, but it was managed at length. 

It was near the lonely spot where Geoffrey’s stranded 
boat had been found. For days together nobody came 
here and Marion could not console herself with the fact 
that she would be rescued. Not that she much cared; 
indeed, it was a matter of indifference to her what 
happened. 

Abell was polite and attentive. He indicated a pile 
of rugs and wraps; if Miss Ravenspur wanted anything 


lTHE mystery of the RAVENSPURS 279 

she had only to call out and it would be supplied imme- 
diately. 

“I wanted nothing but to rest,” Marion said wearily. 
‘T am tired out. I feel as if I could sleep for a thousand 
years. I am so exhausted mentally that I have no aston- 
ishment to find myself in this strange situation.” 

Abell bowed and retired. The night was warm and 
the cave, being above any, even the high spring tides, 
was dry. Marion flung herself down upon the pile of 
wraps and almost at once fell fast asleep. When she 
came to herself again the sun was shining high. Outside 
Abell was pacing the sands. Marion called to him. 

‘T want some breakfast,” she said, “and then I should 
like to have a talk with you. If only I had a looking 
glass.” 

“You don’t need one,” Abell said respectfully if ad- 
miringly. “Still, that has been thought of. There is a 
looking glass in the corner.” 

Marion smiled despite herself. She found the glass 
and propped it up before her. There was no cause for 
alarm. She looked as neat and fresh as if she had just 
made a due and elaborate toilette. Geoffrey was fond of 
saying that after a football match Marion would have 
remained as neat and tidy as ever. She ate her breakfast 
heartily — good tea, with eggs, and bread-and-butter and 
strawberries. 

“Do you want anything more ?” asked Abell, looking in. 

“Nothing, except my liberty,” Marion replied. “You 
may come in and smoke if you like. How long are you 
going to detain me here ?” 

“Four-and-twenty hours.” 

“But I shall be missed. They will search for me. By 
this time, of course, they are hunting all over the place 
for me. They will come here ” 

“I think not,” Abell said politely. “It is too near 
home. Nobody would dream of looking for you in a cave 
close to the castle. We thought of all that. They will 
not look for you for other reasons.” 


28 o the mystery of THE RAVENSPURS 


Marion glanced swiftly at the speaker. 

‘‘How could you prevent them?” she demanded. 

Abell puffed airily at his cigarette. He smiled 
pleasantly. 

“There are many ways,” he said. “You do not come 
down to breakfast. They begin to be alarmed at your 
absence. Somebody goes to your room and finds there 
a note addressed to your grandfather. That note is 
apparently in your handwriting. It contains a few lines 
to the effect that you have made a great discovery. You 
have gone at once to follow it up. The family are not 
to be alarmed if you do not return till very late. When 
you come back you hope to have a joyful revelation for 
everybody.” 

Marion smiled in reply. Abell seemed to be so sure 
of his ground. 

“What you outline means forgery,” she said. 

“So I presume,” Abell replied coolly. “But forgery 
is so simple nowadays with the aid of the camera. After 
what I have told you you will be able to see that our 
scheme has been thoughtfully worked out.” 

“And when I come back do I bring a joyful confession 
with me?” 

Abell looked steadily at the speaker. There was some- 
thing in the expression of his eyes that caused her to 
drop hers. 

“That depends entirely upon yourself,” he murmured. 
“One thing you may rely upon — the confession will be 
made and the clouds rolled away. It is only a matter of 
hours now. Surely, you do not need to be told why you 
are detained?” 

For some reason best known to herself Marion did 
not need to be told. It was a long time before she spoke 
again. She ought to have been angry with this man; 
she ought to have turned from him with indignation ; but 
she did nothing of the kind. And if ghe had, her in- 
dignation would have been wasted, 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 281 


“You are in Dr. Tchigorsky’s confidence?’' she asked. 

Abell shook his head with a smile. 

“I know a great deal about him,” he said. “I help 
him in his experiments. But as to being in his confidence 
— no. I don’t suppose any man in the world enjoys that, 
unless it is your uncle Ralph.” 

Marion started. In that moment many things became 
clear to her. Hitherto she had regarded Ralph Raven- 
spur as anything but a man to be dreaded or feared. Now 
she knew better. Why had she not thought of this 
before ? 

“They are great friends?” she said. 

“Oh, yes. They have been all over the world together. 
And they have been in places which they do not mention 
to anybody." 


CHAPTER LII 


‘‘as proof of holy writ^"' 

Tchigorsky hung over the papers before him as if 
inspired. There was not much, apparently, in the book 
with the metal clasps, but that little seemed to be fascinat- 
ing to a degree. The Russian turned it over till he 
came to the end. 

“You appear to be satisfied,” Geoffrey said. 

“Satisfied is a poor word to express my feelings,” 
Tchigorsky replied. He stretched himself; he drew a 
deep breath like one who has been under water. 

“I have practically everything here in this diary,” he 
said. “It is written in a language you would fail to 
understand, but it is all like print to me. Everything 
is traced down from the first of the family catastrophes 
to the last attempt by means of the bees. There are 
letters from Lassa containing instructions for the prepara- 
tion of certain drugs and poisons ; in fact, here is every- 
thing.” 

“So that we are rid of our foes at last?” 

“Not quite. The princess is cunning. We shall have 
to extract a confession from her; we shall have to get 
her and her two slaves together. It is all a matter of 
hours, but we shall have to be circumspect. If the woman 
finds she is baffled she may be capable of a bitter revenge 
to finish with.” 

“What are you going to do ?” Geoffrey asked. 

“We are going back to the castle the same way we 
came,” Tchigorsky explained. “We are going to show 
your uncle Ralph our find. For the present it is not 
282 


MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 283 

expedient that Sergius Tchigorsky should come to life 
again/' 

The box was locked once more and replaced, and then 
the two burglars crept from the house. They had not 
disturbed anybody, for the upper windows of the farm- 
house were all in darkness. 

A brisk walk brought them to the castle. Upstairs a 
dim light was still burning in Ralph Ravenspur's window. 
The light flared up at the signal, and a few minutes later 
the three were seated round the lamp, while the window 
was darkened again. 

Ralph sat stolidly smoking as if he had not moved 
for hours. He evinced not the slightest curiosity as to 
the success of his companions. Tchigorsky smote him 
on the back with unwonted hilarity. 

‘‘So you have been successful?” he croaked. 

“Oh, you have guessed that!” Tchigorsky cried. 

“It was a mere matter of time,” Ralph replied. “It 
was bound to come. I knew that from the first day I 
got here.” 

“All very well,” Tchigorsky muttered; “but it was 
only a ‘matter of time' till the Ravenspurs were wiped 
out root and branch.” 

“You knew the day you got here?” Geoffrey exclaimed. 

Ralph turned his inscrutable face to the speaker. 

“I did, lad,” he said. “I came home to ascertain how 
the thing was worked. Before I slept the first night 
under the old roof I knew the truth. And I came in time 
— guided by the hand of Providence — to save the first 
of a fresh series of tragedies. 

“You wonder why I did not speak; you have asked 
me before why I did not proclaim my knowledge. And 
I replied that the whole world would have laughed at 
me; you would have been the first to deride me, and 
the assassin would have been warned. I kept my counsel ; 

I worked on like a mole in the dark; and when I had 
something to go on, Tchigorsky came. Before you are 
many hours older the miscreants will stand confessed.” 


284 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


Tchigorsky nodded approval. He was deftly rolling 
a cigarette between his long fingers. 

'‘Ralph is right,” he said. “We have only to fire the 
mine now. By the way, Ralph, you were clever to get 
that key.” 

“Easy enough,” Ralph croaked. “I knew the woman 
would be uneasy about her papers, so I gave her a touch 
of the cordial on her lips and brought her to her senses. 
A certain messenger who shall be nameless was sent off i 
with the key. The messenger was detained, is still de- 
tained according to arrangements, and her pocket was 
picked. Elphick dropped back and gave me the key, 
which I passed on to you.” 

Geoffrey followed in some bewilderment. The mes- 
senger business was all strange to him. 

“Did you know that diary existed ?” he asked. 

“Of course I did,” Ralph growled. “In a measure, I 
might say that I had seen it. Many a time at night have 
I lain in a flower-bed under that woman’s window and 
heard her reading from the diary or writing in it. That 
is why I asked no questions when you came in. I knew 
you had been successful. And now. Princess Zara, it is 
my turn.” 

Ralph’s voice dropped to a whisper, an intense, burning 
whisper of hate and vengeance. He rose and paced the 
room like a caged bird. 

“What will be her fate?” asked Geoffrey. 

“Burn her, slay her, hang her,” Ralph cried. “No 
death is too painful, too loathsome for a creature like 
that. I could forgive her fanatical cruelty; I could for- 
give the way she fought for her creed. But when it 
comes to those allied by ties ” 

The speaker paused and sat down. 

“Who talks too fast says too much,” he remarked 
sententiously. 

“What is the next move ?” Geoffrey asked. 

“Bed, I should say,” Tchigorsky suggested dryly. “As 
far as one can judge we are likely to have a busy day 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 285 

before us to-morrow. And don’t you be surprised at any- 
thing you see or hear. It will be all in the day’s work, 
are you English say. I am going to lie up in hiding 
here, but I shall turn up when the time comes. Good- 
night.” 

It was late when Geoffrey rose the following day, and 
the family had long had breakfast when he came down- 
stairs. Most of the family were still in the breakfast 
room or on the terrace in the sunshine. 

“How is the visitor?” he asked. 

“Mrs. May seems very queer,” Mrs. Gordon explained. 
“She complains of a sort of paralysis in her lower limbs. 
At the same time she refuses to see a doctor, saying that 
she has had something of the kind before.” 

“Does she account for her presence here?” said 
Geoffrey. 

“Oh, yes. Of course she had heard you were missing 
and been informed that everybody from the castle was 
on the beach. It was getting dark when she saw two 
strange suspicious-looking men coming this way. She 
felt sure that they had designs on the house and followed 
them. She tried to get somebody to assist her, but could 
not see a soul anywhere. Then she put on that queer 
dress and came on here. 

“The two men entered the castle and she crept after 
them. They discovered her and one of them gave her 
a blow on the head that stunned her. When she came 
to her senses again she was lying in bed. Wasn’t it 
plucky of her?” 

“Very,” Geoffrey said dryly; “but where is Marion?” 

“Marion, like yourself, seems to be lazily inclined to- 
day. It is so very unlike her ; indeed, I fear the poor 
child is anything but well. Those quiet people always 
feel the most, and poor Marion was greatly upset 
yesterday.” 

Vera came in at the same moment. She had a merry 
word or two for Geoffrey as to his late appearance. She 
had not seen Marion as yet. “Run up to her room, there 


286 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


is a dear girl,” said Geoffrey. “This sort of thing is not 
like Marion; I fear something has happened to her.” 

“I wish you would,” Ravenspur observed. 

Vera disappeared only to come back presently with 
the information that Marion’s room was empty, and that 
her bed had not been occupied. She held a little envelope 
in her hand. 

“I can only find this,” she said. 

Ravenspur snatched the letter, and tore it open. 

“Extraordinary,” he exclaimed. “Marion says she has 
found a clue to the troubles and is following it up at 
once. If she does not come back till late we are not to 
worry about her. Strange ! But I have every confidence 
in the girl.” 

“May she not come to harm!” Vera said fervently. 

“Oh, I hope not,” Mrs. Gordon cried. “But will this 
mystery and misery never end ?” 


CHAPTER LIII 


A LITTLE LIGHT 

Mrs. May, Princess Zara, the brilliant mystery who 
wielded so great an influence over the destiny of the 
house of Ravenspur, lay on her bed smiling faintly in 
the face of Mrs. Gordon Ravenspur, who stood regarding 
her with friendly solicitude. Mrs. Gordon had no sus- 
picions whatever; she would have trusted any one. All 
the lessons of all the years had taught her no prudence 
in that direction. A kind word or an appeal for assist- 
ance always disarmed Mrs. Gordon. 

“I hope you are comfortable ?” she asked. 

Mrs. May smiled faintly. She appeared a trifle em- 
barrassed. She was acting her part beautifully as usual. 
Her audacity and asurance had carried her through great 
difficulties and she had confidence in the future. 

“In my body, perfectly,’' she said. “But I am so uneasy 
in my mind.” 

“And you will not have a doctor ?” 

“Not for worlds. There is nothing the matter with 
me. I have suffered like this before. I have a weak 
heart, you know, and excitement troubles me thus. But 
I don’t want a doctor.” 

“Then why should you worry?” Mrs. Gordon asked. 

“I am ashamed of myself,” the woman confessed with 
a laugh. “I have been wondering what you must think 
about me. This is the second time you have had to detain 
me as an involuntary guest under your roof. The first 
time I was the victim of idle curiosity; the second time 
I did try to do you a good turn. I hope you will re- 
member that.” 


287 


288 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


‘Tt was kind and courageous of you/’ Mrs. Gordon 
said warmly. “How many people would have done as 
much for strangers! And please do not talk about it 
any more or I shall be distressed.” 

Mrs. May was by no means sorry to change the con- 
versation. A thousand questions trembled on her lips, 
but she restrained them. She was burning to know cer- 
tain things, but the mere mention of such matters might 
have aroused suspicions in a far simpler mind than that 
of Mrs. Gordon. 

“So long as you are all well it doesn’t matter,” she 
said. “This afternoon I shall make an effort to get up. 
Meanwhile, I won’t keep you from your household duties. 
Could I see one of those charming girls. Miss Vera or 
Marion? I have taken such a fancy to them.” 

“Vera shall come presently; she has gone to the 
village,” Mrs. Gordon explained. As to Marion she could 
say nothing. 

“Marion has been an enigma to us lately,” she ex- 
plained. “I need not tell you of the dark shadows hang- 
ing over this unhappy house, or how near we have been 
to the solution of the mystery on more than one occasion. 
And now Marion has an idea, queer child. 

“She went out, presumably last night, leaving a note 
to say she had really got on the track at last, and that 
we were not to worry about her even if she did not return 
to-day. So strange of Marion.” 

Mrs. May had turned her face away. She was fearful 
lest the other, prattling on in her innocent way, should 
see the rage and terror and despair of her features. 

“Queer !” she murmured hoarsely. “Did she write to 
you?” 

“No, to my husband’s father. Her note was given to 
me. Even now I don’t know what to make of it. Would 
you like to see the letter? You are so clever that you 
may understand it better than I do.” 

“I should like to see the letter.” 

It was an effort almost beyond the speaker’s powers 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 289 

to keep her voice steady. Even then the words sounded 
in her ears as if they came from somebody else. From 
her pocket Mrs. Gordon produced the letter. Mrs. May 
appeared to regard it languidly. 

“If I knew the girl better I could tell you,” she said. 
“It sounds sincere. But my head is beginning to ache 
again.” 

Mrs. Gordon was all solicitude. She drew down the 
blinds, and produced eau de Cologne, and fanned the 
brow of the sufferer after drenching it with the spirit. 
Mrs. May smiled languidly but gratefully. At the same 
time it was all she could do to keep her hands from 
clutching the other by the throat and screaming out that 
unless she was left alone murder would be done. 

“Now I really can leave you,” Mrs. Gordon said. 

“It would be the greatest kindness,” the invalid mur- . 
mured gratefully. 

The door softly closed ; Mrs. May struggled to a sitting 
position. Her eyes were gleaming, yet a hard despair 
was on her face. She ought to be up and doing, but 
her lower limbs refused their office. 

“A forgery,” she said between her teeth. “Marion 
never wrote that letter. If they were not blind they could 
see that for themselves. Marion has been decoyed away ; 
and, if so, somebody has that key. If I only knew. 
Tchigorsky is dead and Ralph Ravenspur is an idiot. 
Who, then, is the prime mover in this business ?” 

The woman did not know, and for the life of her she 
could not guess. Tchigorsky was out of the way — dead 
and buried. Ralph Ravenspur and Geoffrey were 
antagonists not worthy of a second thought. But some- 
body was moving and that somebody a skilled and 
vigorous foe. 

For once the arch-conspirator was baffled. The foe 
had the enormous knowledge of knowing his quarry, 
while the quarry had not the least notion where or how 
to look for the hunter. And the fish was fast to the line. 


290 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

Unless it got away at once the landing net would be 
applied ; then there would be an end of all things. 

But she could not move; she could do nothing but lie 
there gasping in impotent rage. There was only one 
person in the world who could help her now, and that 
was Marion. And where was Marion? Only the man 
on the other side of the chess board knew that. 

She wished she knew; oh! she wished she knew a 
score of things. Did the people of the castle suspect her ? 
Hardly that, or Mrs. Gordon had not been so friendly. 

What had become of the coat and glass mask she was 
wearing at the time things went wrong in Geoffrey 
RavenspuPs room? Had her subordinates heard her 
cry? Had they fled, or had they been taken? If they 
had fled, had they removed the instruments with them? 

Mrs. May would have given five years of her life for 
enlightenment on these vital questions. Even she could 
not read the past and solve the unseen. 

Tears of impotent rage and fury rose to her eyes. 
While she was lying there wasting the diamond minutes 
the foe was at work. At any time that foe might come 
down with the most overwhelming proofs and crush her. 
Marion had been spirited away. Why? So that the 
key of the safe might be stolen and used to advantage. 

Once more the woman tried to raise herself from the 
bed. It was useless. She slipped the bed-clothes into 
her mouth to stifle the cries that rose to her lips. She 
was huddled under them when the door opened and Vera 
stepped in. 

“Did you call out?’' she asked. “I was passing your 
door and fancied I heard a cry. Are you still suffering 
from a headache?” 

Mrs. May’s first impulse was to order the girl away. 
Then an idea came to her. 

“The headache is gone,” she said sweetly. “It was just 
a twinge of neuralgia. I wonder if you would do me a 
favor.” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVEN SPURS 291 

‘‘Certainly/’ 

“Then I wish you would get me some paper and 
envelopes. I have a note to write. There is a child in 
the village I am fond of. She comes and sits in the 
tangle at the bottom of the Jessops’ garden and talks to 
me. I am afraid she thinks more of my chocolates than 
me, but that is a detail.” 

“You want to write the child a note. How sweet of 
you !” 

“Oh, no,” Mrs. May said. She was going to embark 
on a dangerous effort and was not quite certain as yet. 
But desperate diseases require desperate remedies. “It 
is nothing. And I don’t want anybody to know.” 

“I am sure you can trust to me.” 

“Of course I can, my dear child. And I will. Please 
get me the materials.” 

Vera brought the paper and essentials. With a smile 
on her face Mrs. May wrote the letter. Inside the en- 
velope she placed something she had taken from the 
bosom of her dress. 

“A cake of chocolate,” she explained smilingly. “See, 
I do not address the envelope, but place on it this funny 
sign that looks like an intoxicated problem in Euclid. 
The child will understand. And now I am going to ask 
you to do me a favor. Will you please take the letter 
without letting anybody know what you are doing, and 
put it at the foot of the big elder in the tangle? I dare 
say it sounds very stupid of me, 'but I don’t want the 
child to be disappointed.” 

Vera professed herself ready and also to be charmed 
with the idea. She would go at once, she said, and Mrs. 
May raised no obstacle. At the end of the corridor Vera 
was confronted with her uncle Ralph. He held out his 
hand. 

“I was listening,” he said. “I knew beyond all doubt 
that something of the kind would be attempted. I want 
that letter.” 

“But uncle, I promised ” 


292 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“It matters nothing what you promised. It is of vital 
importance that the inside of that letter should be seen. 
Chocolate for a child, indeed Death to us all, rather. 
You are going to give me that letter and I am going to 
open it. Afterwards it shall be sealed again, and you 
shall convey it to its destination. The letter 

Dazed and bewildered, Vera handed it to him. It was 
not a nice thing to do, but, then, nice methods were not 
for Mrs. May. Ralph grasped the letter and made off 
towards his room. 

“Wait here,” he said. “I shall not be a few minutes. 
I am merely going to steam that envelope open and 
master the contents. DonT go away.” 

Vera nodded. She was too astonished for words; not 
that she felt compunction any longer. Presently Ralph 
returned. 

“There you are, my child,” he said. “If I seemed 
harsh to you, forgive me. It is no time for courtesies. 
You can take the letter now and deliver it. It has been 
a good and great discovery for us.” 


CHAPTER LIV 


EXIT THE ASIATICS 

Tchigorsky, Ralph Ravenspur, and Geoffrey sat smok- 
ing in the blind man’s room. It was late the same after- 
noon and from the window could be heard the thunder 
of the incoming tide. Tchigorsky appeared to be in 
excellent spirits, puffed his cigarette with gusto and 
came out in the new role of a raconteur. 

“We have them all now,” he said. “To-day will settle 
everything. It was a pretty idea of Ralph’s to hang about 
the corridor under the impression that the woman would 
try to send some kind of message to her familiars. Real 
genius, I call it.” 

“Not a bit of it,” Ralph said doggedly. “Pshaw, a 
child would have done the same. The woman was bound 
to try to send a letter. She lies there helpless, but knows 
that somebody is moving in her tracks. And, to add to 
her suspense, she hasn’t an idea who is following her up. 

“Don’t you see she is in the dark? Don’t you under- 
stand that she suspects she has been trapped ? She wants 
to know all about her infernal apparatus. She wants 
her information all at one fell swoop. And when she 
found that Marion was missing she felt certain that her 
time was near.” 

“What is her hold over Marion?” Geoffrey asked. 

“And why has Marion gone away?” Tchigorsky said 
evasively. “We shall come to a full understanding about 
that presently. Let us begin to unravel the skein from 
the start. I read that letter which Ralph gave to me, 
the letter which by this time is in the hands of that 

293 


294 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


woman’s familiars. They have instructions to come to 
the castle at dusk and enter it by way of the vaults. When 
the family are at dinner the Orientals will make their 
way up to their mistress.” 

^‘But can they?” Geoffrey asked. 

‘‘Of course they can. Many a night have they been 
here. But we have already stopped any danger that way 
by locking the door of the vault, the one below sea level. 
Then we shall go down the cliffs presently and take the 
chaps like rats in a trap. They will be arrested and 
handed over to the police because the time has come 
when we can afford to show our hands. The end is very 
near.” 

“But the evidence against Mrs. May ?” Geoffrey 
suggested. 

Tchigorsky tapped his breast pocket significantly. 

“You have forgotten the diary,” he said. “I have evi- 
dence enough here to hang that vile wretch over and 
over again. I have evidence enough to place in the .hands 
of the Government which will convince those gentry in 
the temples beyond Lassa that they had better be content 
to leave us alone in future unless they desire to have their 
temples blown about their ears. This dairy clinches the 
whole business. The house of Ravenspur is free.” 

“God grant that it may be so,” Geoffrey said fervently. 
“We have only to wait till dusk. Tell me the rest of 
your adventures in the Black Valley.” 

Tchigorsky nodded as he proceeded to make a fresh 
cigarette. 

“There is not much more to tell,” he said. “Some ‘ 
day, when I have more leisure on my hands, I will give 
the whole business, chapter and verse. I have only told 
you enough for you to know the class of foe you have 
to deal with. 

“Well, as I told you, we shot two of the priests whose 
business it was to guide our stumbling feet to the bottom 
and then leave us there. We knew that these men would 
never be missed, so that we hadn’t much anxiety on that 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 295 

score. The others, despite their sacred calling, were just 
as anxious to live as anybody else. 

“To prevent any chance of escape, we took off our 
flowing robes, tore them into strips, and bound our guides 
to ourselves. It was a good thing we did so, for before 
long we plunged into darkness so thick that its velvety 
softness seemed to suffocate us. 

“You will hardly believe me, but for two whole days 
and nights we stumbled on in that awful darkness with- 
out food or rest, except now and again when we fell 
exhausted. All that time we could see nothing, but there 
were awful noises from unseen animals, roars and yells 
and cries of pain. 

“Loathsome, greasy reptiles were under our feet, the 
clammy rocks seemed to be alive with them. Yet they 
did us no harm; indeed, their sole object seemed to be 
to get out of our way. Sometimes great eyes gleamed 
at us, but those eyes were ever filled with a terror greater 
than our own. 

“After a bit this sense of fear passed away. Had we 
been alone, had we possessed no hope of ultimate salva- 
tion, the unseen horrors of the place would have driven 
us mad. We should have wandered on until we had 
dropped hopelessly insane and perished. Even a man 
utterly devoid of imagination could not have fought off 
the mad terror of it all. As for me, I will never forget it.^’ 

Tchigorsky paused and wiped his forehead. Glancing 
at Ralph, Geoffrey could see that the latter was trembling 
like a leaf. 

“We came to the end of it at length,” Tchigorsky went 
on. “We came to light and a long desolate valley whence 
we proceeded into an arid desert. Here we found our 
latitude and dismissed our guides. We ought to have 
shot them, but we refrained. It would have saved a deal 
of trouble. They were not less dangerous than mad dogs. 

“We got into communication with our guides and 
servants in a day or two, and there ended the first and 
most thrilling volume of our adventures. How the 


296 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


Princess Zara has persecuted us ever since you know. 
And how we are going to turn the tables on that fiend 
of a woman you also know.” 

There was a long silence after Tchigorsky had finished 
and dusk began to fall. Geoffrey looked out of the 
window toward the sea. Suddenly he started. 

'‘Blobber Rock,” he gasped. “Covered ! Not a vestige 
of it to be seen ! It is high spring tide to-day, the highest 
of the month, and I had forgotten all about it.” 

“What difference does it make?” Tchigorsky asked. 

“It fills the underground caves,” Geoffrey cried. “We 
have locked the doors of the lower vault, and in that 
vault are the two Asiatics waiting the orders of their 
mistress. A spring tide fills that vault with water. If 
those men got that letter, as they are pretty sure to have 
done by this time, then they are dead men. Once they 
get into the cave the tide would cut them off, and they 
would be drowned like rats in a sewer. Of course, they 
would have no idea the vault was closed to them, 
and ” 

“Quit right,” Tchigorsky interrupted. “I never 
thought of that. And I had no knowledge of the state 
of the tide. And there are other caves where 

He was going to say “where Marion is,” but paused. 
Ralph seemed to divine what was in his mind. The 
reply seemed incontinent, but Tchigorsky understood. 

“All the other caves are practically beyond high-water 
mark,” he said. “What Geoffrey says is correct and our 
forgetfulness has saved the hangman a job. But wouldn’t 
it be well to make sure ?” 

Tchigorsky was of that opinion. 

“No need to alarm the household,” he said. “Geoffrey 
shall procure a lantern, and I will come and assist in 
the search. I don’t want to be seen just yet ; but it really 
does not much matter, as there is no need for further 
concealment. If these men are drowned, they are 
drowned, and there is an end of the matter. In any case, 
we have the chief culprit by the heels.” 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 297 


It was possible, after all, to reach the vaults without 
being seen. Geoffrey procured a lantern and the party set 
out. When they were at the bottom of the steps they 
could hear the sea slashing and beating on the walls and 
sides of the vault. A great wave slipped up as the door 
opened. 

Geoffrey bent down with the lantern in his hand. For 
some time he searched the boiling spume without success. 

‘‘Can you see anything?” asked Tchigorsky. 

“Nothing whatever,” said Geoffrey. “It is possible 
that they might not Ah !” 

He shuddered as he raised the light. The spume 
ceased to boil for a moment, then a stiff, rigid hand crept 
horribly from the flood. A brown sodden face followed. 
There lay one of the Asiatics past the power of further 
harm. 

“You have seen one,” Tchigrosky shouted, “and there 
is the other.” 

Another face came up like a repulsive picture on a 
screen. A minute later and the two bodies were dripping 
on the steps of the vault. 


CHAPTER LV 


A SHOCK FOR THE PRINCESS 

It was not a pleasant task, but it had to be done. For- 
tunately it was possible to do everything discreetly and 
in order, for the vaults were large, and there was not the 
slightest chance that any of the household would come 
near. 

The bodies were laid out there and the key turned 
upon them. Geoffrey looked at his companions and in- 
quired what was to be done next. 

“Inform the head of the house and send for the police,” 
Tchigorsky said ; “so far as I can see, it will be impossible 
to keep the matter a secret. Nor are we to blame. Those 
men came here for no good purpose, and we took steps 
to prevent them from entering the house. 

“Unfortunately, we forgot there would be an excep- 
tionally high tide to-day, and consequently they have paid 
the penalty of their folly. But we can’t bury these two 
fellows as we did the others.” 

“Hadn’t we better search them?” Ralph suggested. 
“They came in response to the note sent them by their 
mistress. The note was opened and read. One of them 
is sure to have the letter on his person.” 

“Then let the police find it,” Tchigorsky said promptly. 
“It will be the link in the evidence that we require. When 
you and I come to tell our story, Ralph, and the police 
find that letter, the net around Princess Zara will be 
complete. I have only to produce that diary and the 
case is finished.” 

Ralph nodded approval. Five minutes later and the 
head of the house, seated over a book in the library, was 
298 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 299 

exceedingly astonished to see Ralph and Geoffrey, fol- 
lowed by Tchigorsky, enter the room. 

He swept a keen glance over their faces; he saw at 
once they had news of grave import for him. 

“I do not understand,’’ he said. “Dr. Tchigorsky, I 
am amazed. I was under the impression that you were 
dead and buried.” 

“Other people shared the same opinion, sir,” Tchigor- 
sky said coolly. “The great misfortune of another man 
was my golden opportunity. It was necessary for certain 
people to regard me as dead — your enemies particularly. 
But perhaps I had better explain.” 

“It would be as well,” Ravenspur murmured. 

Tchigorsky proceeded to clear the mystery of Voski’s 
death. He had to tell the whole story, beginning at Lassa 
and going on to the end. Ravenspur listened with the 
air of a man who dreams. To a man used all his life to 
the quiet life of an English shire it seemed impossible 
to believe that such things could be. And why should 
these people persecute him ; why should they come here ? 
What did those men mean by drowning themselves in 
the vaults ? 

“They came here at the instigation of Mrs. May?” 
Tchigorsky said. 

“But I don’t see how that lady comes to be in it at all.” 

“You will in a minute,” said Tchigorsky grimly. 
“You will when I tell you that Mrs. May and Princess 
Zara are one and the same person.” Ravenspur gasped. 
The bare idea of having such a woman under his roof 
filled him with horror. Even yet he could not under- 
stand his danger. 

“But why does she come?” he demanded. “For re- 
venge on your two?” 

“Oh, no. My being here was a mere coincidence. Of 
course, the princess would have removed me sooner or 
later. Ralph, strange to say, she does not recognize at 
all, possibly because he has disguised himself with such 


300 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

simple cleverness. Princess Zara came here to destroy 
your family.’' 

“In the name of Heaven, why?” 

“Partly for revenge, partly for money. I told you all 
about her husband, who was an English officer. I told 
you why she had married him. When she discovered 
the papers she wanted, then she killed him and returned 
to her own people, giving out that she and her husband 
had perished up country in a fearful cholera epidemic. 
She wanted money. Why not kill off her husband’s 
family one by one so that finally the estates should come 
to her? Mr. Ravenspur, surely you have guessed who 
was the English officer Princess Zara married?” 

Ravenspur staggered back as before a heavy blow. The 
illuminating flash almost stunned him. He fell gasping 
into a chair. 

“My son, Jasper,” he said hoarsely. “That fiend is 
his widow.” 

“And Marion’s mother,” Ralph croaked. 

Geoffrey was almost as much astonished as his grand- 
father. He wondered why he had not seen all this before. 
Once explained, the problem was ridiculously simply. 
Ravenspur covered his face with his hands. 

“Marion must not know,” he said. “It would kill 
her.” 

“She knows already,” Tchigorsky said. “That 
woman has great influence over her child. And the idea 
was for the child to get everything. The others were 
to be killed off until she was the only one left. With 
this large fortune at command Zara meant to be another 
Queen of Sheba. And she would have succeeded, too.” 

Ravenspur shuddered. He was torn by conflicting 
emotions. Perhaps tenderness and sympathy for Marion 
were uppermost. How much did she know ? How much 
had she guessed? Was she entirely in the dark as to 
her mother’s machinations, or had she come resolved to 
protect the relatives as much as possible? 

Ravenspur poured out these questions one after an- 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 301 


other. Tchigorsky could or would say nothing to relieve 
the other’s feelings on these points. 

“What you ask has nothing to do with the case,” he 
said. “I have proved to you, I am prepared to prove 
in any court of law, how your family has been destroyed 
and who is the author of the mischief. 

“She is under your roof, where she is powerless to 
move. Her two confederates lie dead in the vaults 
yonder. I have already explained to you how it came 
about that the princess is here and how her infernal 
apparatus failed. It now remains to call in the police.” 

“There will be a fearful scandal,” Ravenspur groaned. 

Tchigorsky glanced at him impatiently. The cosmo- 
politan knew a great many things that were sealed books 
to Ravenspur — in point of knowledge it was as a child 
alongside a great master; but Tchigorsky knew nothing 
of family pride. 

“Which will be forgotten in a week,” he said emphatic- 
ally. “And when the thing is over you will be free 
again. You cannot realize what that means as yet.” 

“No,” Ravenspur said. “I cannot’ 

“Nevertheless, you can see for yourself that what I 
say is a fact,” Tchigorsky resumed. “And as a county 
magistrate and a deputy-lieutenant you would hardly 
venture to suggest that we should bury those bodies and 
say nothing to anybody about it ?” 

Ravenspur nodded approval. A few minutes later a 
groom was carrying a note to the police inspector at 
Alton. Ravenspur turned to Tchigorsky with a manner 
more genial than he usually assumed. 

“I have forgotten to thank you,” he said. “And you, 
Ralph, have saved the house. If you can forget the 

past ” He said no more, but his hand went out. 

Ralph seemed to divine it and pressed it closely. There 
was no word uttered on either side. But they both 
understood and Ralph smiled. Geoffrey had never seen 
his uncle smile before. The expression of his face was 
genial, almost handsome. His wooden look had utterly 


302 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


disappeared and nobody ever saw it again. The trans- 
*formation of Ralph Ravenspur was not the least wonder- 
ful incident of the whole mysterious affair. 

The door opened and Vera came lightly into the room. 

‘‘What does all this mystery mean?” she asked. 
^‘Geoffrey, you are — Dr. Tchigorsky!” 

The last words came with a scream that might have 
been heard all over the house. Tchigorsky closed the 
door and proceeded rapidly to explain. But it was not 
the full explanation he had given to the others. There 
was time enough for that. 

Vera was too bewildered to ask questions. At a sign 
from Geoffrey she slipped from the room. Then she 
recollected that she had come downstairs on an errand of 
mercy. She promised to get a cup of tea for the woman 
whom she still knew as Mrs. May. She procured the 
tea from the drawing room and, in a dazed kind of state 
made her way up the stairs again. 

Mrs. May was sitting up in bed. There was a pink 
spot on either cheek and her dark eyes were blazing. 

‘T hope nothing is wrong,” she said. “It might have 
been my fancy, but it seemed to me that I heard you 
call Tchigorsky’s name at the top of your voice.” 

The suggestion was made with a fervent earnestness 
that the woman could not repress. But Vera did not 
notice it. 

“I did,” she said. “I walked into the library, hearing 
voices there, and in a chair Dr. Tchigorsky was seated. 
No wonder that I cried out. It was a fearful shock. 
And when he began to talk I could not believe the evi- 
dence of my senses.” 

“Then who was it that was buried?” 

The woman asked the question mechanically. She 
knew perfectly well what the reply would be; she knew 
that she had been discovered at last, and that the murder 
of Voski had been turned to good purpose by Tchigorsky. 
And she knew now who her new ally, Ben Heer, really 
was. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 303 


‘‘Dr. Voski/^ Vera explained. “I have been hearing 
all about Lassa and a certain Princess Zara, who seeing 
to be a dreadful wretch. But I fear that I am exciting 
you. And you haven’t drunk your tea.” 

The woman gulped down her tea and then fell back 
on her bed, closing her eyes. She wanted to be alone, 
to have time to think. Danger had threatened her before, 
but not living, palpitating peril like this. Vera crept away 
and the woman rose again, but she could not get from 
her bed. 

Passionate, angry tears filled her eyes. 

“That man has beaten me,” she groaned. “It is fin- 
ished for good and all. But theii revenge will not be of 
long duration.” 


CHAPTER LVI 


MARION COMES BACK 

The police had more or less taken possession of Raven- 
spur. They were everywhere asking questions that 
Tchigorsky took upon himself to answer. 

As he had expected, the note carried by Vera and 
deposited in the farmhouse garden had been found on 
one of the bodies. The inspector of police was an in- 
telligent man, and he fell in with everything that Tchigor- 
sky suggested. 

“Of course you can’t read this book,” said the Russian 
as he handed over the fateful diary for safe custody, 
“but there are one or two Oriental scholars in London 
who will bear out my testimony. Have you any 
doubt ?” 

“Personally not the least,” the inspector replied. “You 
say it is impossible for that woman to get away?” 

“Absolutely impossible. She is safe for days.” 

“Then in that case there is no need to arrest her. That 
will have to come after the inquest on these men, which 
we shall hold to-morrow. And what a sensation the case 
will make ! If I had read this thing in a book I should 
have laughed at it. And now we must have a thorough 
search for those electrical appliances.” 

It was long past dinner-time before the police inves- 
tigations were finished. Aided by Tchigorsky a vast 
amount of mechanical appliances was found, including 
the apparatus that was to do so much harm to the Raven- 
spurs, and which had ended in wrecking the schemes of 
their arch-enemy.” 

“Inquest at ten to-morrow, sir,” the inspector remarked 

304 


:THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 305 

to Ravenspur. 'T am very sorry, but we shall not trouble 
you more than we can help.” 

Ravenspur shook his head sadly. He was not par- 
ticularly versed in the ways of the law, but he could see 
a long case ahead ; and he was beginning to worry about 
Marion. It was nearly ten o’clock now and the girl had 
not returned. 

It would be a sad home-coming for the girl, but they 
would all do what they could for her. Everybody 
appeared to be duly sympathetic except Ralph, who said 
nothing. Tchigorsky seemed to have obliterated himself 
entirely. 

Geoffrey had retired to the billiard-room, where Vera 
followed him. They started a game, but their nerves 
were in no condition to finish it. Cues were flung down 
and the lovers stood before the fireplace. 

“What are you thinking about ?” Geoffrey asked. 

Vera looked up dreamingly. She touched Geoffrey’s 
cheek caressingly. She looked like one who is happy 
and yet at the same time ashamed of her own happiness. 

“Of many things, pleasant and otherwise,” she said. 
“I am still utterly in the dark myself, but those who know 
tell me that the shadow has lifted forever. That in itself 
is so great a joy that I dare not let my mind dwell upon 
it as yet. To think that we may part and meet again, to 

think But I dare not let my mind dwell upon that. 

But what has Mrs. May to do with it ?” 

Vera was not behind the scenes as yet. Still, within a 
few hours the thing must come out. What the family 
regarded as a nurse had been procured for the invalid, 
a nurse who really was a female warder in disguise, and 
Ravenspur had sternly given strict orders that nobody 
was to go near that room. He vouchsafed no reason 
why ; he gave the order and it was obeyed. 

Then Geoffrey told Vera everything. Pie went through 
the whole story from the very beginning. Vera listened 
as one in a dream. Such wickedness was beyond her 
comprehension. Awful as the cloud was that had long 


3o6 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


hung over the house of Ravenspur, Vera had not 
imagined it to be lined with such depravity as this. 

“And so that inhuman wretch is Marion’s mother?” 
said Vera. “The child of a creature who deliberately 
murdered a husband and tried to destroy his family so 
that she could get everything into her hands ! No wonder 
that Marion has been a changed creature since this Mrs. 
May has been about ! How I pity her anguish and con- 
dition of mind! But had Marion a sister?” 

“Not that I ever heard of. Why?” 

“I was thinking of that other girl, the girl so like 
Marion that you were talking about just now. What 
has become of her?” 

Geoffrey shook his head. He had forgotten that most 
mysterious personage. It was more than likely, he ex- 
plained, that Tchigorsky would know. Not that it much 
mattered. The two were silent for some little time, then 
a peal of laughter from the drawing-room caused them 
to smile. 

“My mother,” said Vera. “I have not heard her laugh 
like that for years. Does it not seem funny to realize 
that before long we shall be laughing and chatting and 
moving with the world once more, Geoff ? I should like 
to leave Ravenspur and have a long, long holiday on the 
Continent.” 

Geoffrey stooped and kissed her. 

“So you shall, sweet,” he said. “We can be married 
now. And when we come back to Ravenspur it will be 
the dear old home I recollect in my childhood’s days. 
Vera, you and I shall be the happiest couple in the world.” 

They went back to the drawing room again. Here 
the elders were conversing quietly yet happily. There 
was an air of cheerful gaiety upon them that the house 
had not know for many a long day. 

Gordon Ravenspur was impressing upon his father the 
necessity of looking more sharply after the shooting. 
The head of the family had before him some plans of 
new farm buildings. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 30; 

It was marvelous what a change the last few hours 
had wrought. And the author of all the sorrow and 
anguish was upstairs guarded by eyes that never tired. 

‘‘How bright and cheerful you look/’ Vera said. “It 
only wants one thing to make the picture complete. You 
can guess, dear grandfather.” 

“Marion,” Ravenspur said. “Marion, of course.” 

“She will come back,” Ralph murmured. “Marion will 
return. We know now that no harm could come to the 
girl. I should not wonder if she were not on her way 
home this very moment.” 

Half an hour passed, an hour elapsed, and yet no 
Marion. They were all getting uneasy but Ralph, who 
sat doggedly in his chair. Then there was a commotion 
outside, the door opened, and Marion came in. 

She looked pale and uneasy. She glanced from one to 
the other with frightened eyes. It was easy to see that 
she was greatly moved and, moreover, was not sure as 
to the warmth of her reception. But she might have 
made her mind easy on that score. All rose to welcome 
her. 

“My dear, dear child,” Vera cried. “Where have you 
been?” 

Vera fluttered forward and took off Marion’s cloak. 
All seemed to be delighted. Marion dropped into a chair 
with quivering smile. Ralph had felt his way across to 
her and stood by the side of her chair. 

“I fancied I had made a discovery,” she said. “It oc- 
curred to me perhaps . But don’t let us talk about 

myself. Has anything happened here?” 

“Much,” Ralph cried. “Great things. The mystery 
is solved.” 

“Solved?” Marion gasped. “You have found the 
culprit?” 

“The culprit is in the house. She is Mrs. May. I 
prefer to call her Princess Zara; and yet again I might 
call her Mrs. Ravenspur, wife of the late Jasper Raven- 
spur. Marion, we have found your mother.” 


3o8 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


Marion said nothing. Her head had fallen forward 
and she sat swaying in her chair. There was a hard yet 
pleading look in her eyes. Ralph bent down and drew 
her none too tenderly to her feet. 

“The she-wolf is yonder, the cub is here,’’ he cried. 
“Are you going to speak or shall I tell the story ? Speak, 
or let me do so.” Ravenspur sprang forward angrily. 

“What are you doing?” he cried. “To lay hand on 
that angel ” 

“Ay,” said Ralph, “an angel truly, but a fallen one — 
Lucifer in the dust.” 


CHAPTER LVII 


HAND AND FOOT 

What did it mean ? Why was there all this commotion 
in the house? And why did everybody leave her so 
severely alone? These were the questions that Princess 
Zara, otherwise Mrs. May, otherwise Mrs. Jasper Raven- 
spur, asked herself. And why had Marion not returned? 

Oh, it was bitter to lie there fettered hand and foot at 
the very moment when activity and cunning and action 
were most imperatively needed. And Tchigorsky was 
not dead. How she had been tricked and fooled ! 

Fate had played against her. Who could have an- 
ticipated that Voski would have come to Ravenspur and 
met his death there! By this time the sham Ben Heer 
had all necessary proofs in his hands. 

The door opened and a resolute-looking woman came 
in. Her garb was something of the hospital type, yet 
more severe and plainer. She came in and took her place 
with the air of one who watches a prisoner. 

“I do not require your services,” the adventuress said 
coldly. 

“It is immaterial, madame,” was the equally cold reply. 
“I am sent here to do my duty whether you require my 
services or not.” 

“Indeed 1 Am I to regard myself as a prisoner, then ?” 

The other bowed. The bolt had fallen. There was 
nothing for it but to submit quietly. By this time Tchi- 
gorsky’s proofs were in possession of the police. The 
prisoner smiled grimly as she thought how she could 
escape her foes yet. 


309 


310 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“What is the confusion in the house?” she asked. 
“What is your name?” 

“My name is Symonds. I was fetched here by the in- 
spector of police. The bodies of two Asiatics have been 
found drowned in the vaults, and they are getting ready 
for the inquest to-morrow.” 

Once again the defeated murderess smiled. Fate was 
all against her. Those men had come to do her bidding 
and had perished. Doubtless the note sent by Vera 
Ravenspur would be found on one of them, and this 
would be no more than another link in the long chain. 

She tried to rise but she could not. She lay on the 
bed fully dressed, her brain was as quick and as clear 
as ever, but the paralysis in the lower limbs fettered her. 
A blind fury shook her for the moment. 

If she had only been free to move she would have 
triumphed even yet. Tchigorsky might have been a 
clever man, but she would have shown him that he was 
no match for her. And now she had walked into the 
trap he had laid for her. Doubtless she had been watched 
into the castle; doubtless the enemy had seen her lay 
those wires, and had arranged to give her a taste of that 
deadly stuff she had prepared for others. Then Marion 
had been spirited away, and the key of the safe taken 
from her. Subsequently Tchigorsky had ransacked the 
box. Oh, she saw it all. 

The family of Ravenspur saw it all by this time, too. 
She was no longer a guest in the house of Ravenspur, 
but a prisoner in charge of a female warder. In a day 
or two she would be cast into prison. In due course she 
would undergo her trial and finally be hanged by the neck' 
until she were dead. 

It was this last thought that caused her to smile. She 
was too clever a woman not to accept the inevitable. A 
great many people in her position would have protested 
and lied and blustered. She saw the folly of it. 

“I should like to see Mr. Ravenspur,” she said. “Will 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 31 1 

you tell him so? You need not fear. I am helpless. I 
could not move.’' 

Mrs. Symonds stepped into the corridor and gave the 
message to a passing servant. After a time a slow step 
came shuffling along up the stairs. It was Ralph, who 
presently came into the room. 

“You can leave us for a little time,” he said. 

Symonds discreetly disappeared. She passed into the 
corridor. The woman in the bed opened her mouth to 
speak, but stopped in astonishment. Ralph’s glasses were 
gone, and the smooth unguents had disappeared from his 
face. Those cruel criss-cross lines stood out with start- 
ling distinctness. 

“You wanted to see my father?” he said. “My father 
declines to see you in any circumstances. Perhaps I shall 
do as well.” 

“You, you are one of the men I saw at Lassa.” The 
words came from the woman’s lips with a gasp. She 
had never been so astonished in all her life. 

“Yes, I was the other one,” Ralph said coolly. “I had 
to disguise myself when I found out you were in Eng- 
land. There is no longer any need for disguise. I hope 
you are delighted to see me, my dear sister-in-law.” 

“Oh, so you know that also ?” 

“You may take it for granted that I knew everything.” 

There was a long pause before the woman spoke again. 

“I need not ask what opinion you have formed of me ?” 

“You are perhaps the most depraved wretch who ever 
drew the breath of life,” said Ralph, slowly and without 
emotion. “To your ambition and what you call your 
religion you are prepared to sacrifice everything. You 
deliberately murdered the man who loved you.” 

Your brother, Jasper. I admit it. Perhaps you will 
find it impossible to believe that I loved him. But I did 
with my whole heart and soul. I loved him and I killed 
him. Does it not sound strange? But this is the fact. 
I had to do it — for the sake of my people and my religion 


312 THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 

I had to do it. When I recovered those papers I slew 
him as he knew I would. He was the only thing on 
earth that'I had to care for.” 

“Oh! Had you not a daughter?” 

The woman made a gesture of contempt. 

“A poor creature,” she said. “But I brought her up 
in the strong faith I follow, and so she has not been 
without her uses. Not that she knows anything of the 
Holy -Temple and the ceremonial there. I never told her 
about the two men who escaped along the Black Valley. 
If I had I should have known you to be a worthy 
antagonist instead of a half-witted fool, and then you 
would never have brought me to this pass. Oh, if I had 
only told her that !” 

There was a passionate ring in the woman’s voice. It 
was the first time during the interview that she had dis- 
played any humanity. 

“You didn’t and there is an end of it,” Ralph said. 
“Go on.” 

“Is there any need to go on ? I have failed and there 
is an end of the matter. When my husband died my 
feelings were turned to rage and hatred of you all.” 

“Why should you all live and prosper while he was 
dead?” said Mrs. May. “With your money I could do 
anything among my own people. I could found a new 
dynasty. Did I not possess the occult knowledge of the 
East with a thorough knowledge of what you are pleased 
to call Western civilization? I could do it. A little longer 
and your wealth would have come to my child ; in other 
words, it would have come to me. Do you understand 
what I mean?” 

“Perfectly. I have understood for some time. Before 
I returned to England I had an idea of what was at the 
bottom of the vendetta. But you would not have suc- 
ceeded. Tchigorsky and myself made up our minds that 
if we could not bring the crimes home to you we would 
shoot you.” 

Ralph spoke with a grim coldness that was not without 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 313 


its effect upon the listener. Hard as she was, the senti- 
ment was after her own heart. 

‘‘That would have been murder,” she said. 

“Perhaps so. In the cold, prosaic eyes of the law we 
might have been regarded as criminals of the type you 
mention ; but we did not propose to pay any deference to 
the law. Nor would our deed have been discovered. 
You would simply have disappeared; we should have 
shot you and thrown your body into the sea. And I don’t 
fancy that the deed would have weighed very heavily 
on the conscience of either of us.” 

The woman smiled. Nothing seemed to disturb her. 
She was full of passionate fury against the decrees of 
fate, but she did not show it. 

“I suppose you planned everything out?” she asked. 

“Everything; Tchigorsky and myself between us. It 
was Tchigorsky who rescued my nephew after your 
familiar in the blue dress and red hat had cut the mast 
and sculls. We guessed that the search for Geoffrey 
would empty the house, and that you would take advan- 
tage of the fact. 

“Geoffrey and I watched you laying those wires. It 
was I who saw that you had a taste of the poison. I 
wanted to lay you by the heels here while Tchigorsky 
overhauled your possessions. Your messenger was way- 
laid and robbed of your key. Also I opened the letter 
you sent by my niece so that your confederates might 
be summoned to your assistance.” 

“Marion has come back again ?” 

“Within the last hour, yes. You will see her pres- 
ently.” 

The woman smiled curiously. 

“Not to-night,” she said. “Not to-night. I am tired 
and fancy I shall sleep well. I shall be glad of a long, 
long rest. Shall I see your father?” 

“No,” Ralph said sternly. “You certainly shall not.” 

“Then good-night. Do not be surprised if I beat you 
yet.” 


314 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


It was late, and the family were retiring. Marion had 
already gone. In the drawing-room a group had gath- 
ered round the fire. They were silent and sad, for they 
had heard many things that had moved them strangely. 
There was a knock at the door and Symonds looked in. 

‘‘My prisoner is dead,’’ she said coldly and unmoved. 
“I supposed she managed to secret some poison and take 
it. But she is dead.” 

“It is well,” Ravenspur replied. “It might have been 
worse. It was the best she could do to lift the shadow 
of disgrace from this unhappy house.” 


UENVOI 


Marion had bowed her head before the coming storm. 
She asked no mercy and expected none. Yet she looked 
the same pure, unaffected saint she had ever appeared. 
Ravenspur would have taken her hand, but she drew it 
away. 

“It is true,” she said, “I am a fallen angel. I have 
never been anything else. Put it down to my mother’s 
training if you like, but I came here as her friend, not 
yours. My religion is hers, my feelings are hers; I am 
of her people. With all the wicked knowledge of the 
East I came here to cut you off root and branch.” 

“Why?” Ravenspur said brokenly. “In the name of 
Heaven, why?” 

“Because for years I have been taught to hate you; 
because I am at heart an Asiatic. It would be grand to 
have all your money, so that I might be a great person 
in my own country some day. Then I came and brought 
the curse with me. It never seemed to strike any of you 
that the curse and I came together. Three deaths fol- 
lowed. In every one of these I played a part; I was 
responsible for them all. Shall I tell you how ?” 

“No, no,” said Ravenspur. “Heavens, this is too hor- 
rible. To think of you looking so sweet and so fair and 
good ; to think that you should have crept into our hearts 
only to betray us like this. We want to hear nothing 
beyond your confession. Have you a heart at all, or 
are you a beautiful fiend ?” 

“I did not imagine that I had a heart at all until I 
came here,” Marion replied. She had not abated a jot 
of her sweetness of expression or angelic manner. “Then 

315 


3i6 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 

gradually I began to love you all. When I met my cousin 
Geoffrey I recognized the fact that I was a woman. 

'‘More than once I have been on the point of betraying 
myself to him. But the more passion for him filled my 
heart the worse I felt. I was going to kill you all off 
and keep Geoffrey for myself. If Vera had died he would 
have come to care for me in time. I know he would. 

“Then my mother came. I was not getting along fast 
enough for her. Her keen eyes saw into my breast and 
discovered my secret at once. For that reason she marked 
Geoffrey down for her next victim. I tried to warn him ; 
I wrote him a letter. And I had to do him to death 
myself. It was I who cut the mast away; it was I who 
sawed the sculls. I was the girl in the blue dress.” 

“Amazing,” Geoffrey murmured. “To think of it! 
Marion, Marion!” 

There were tears in his eyes; he could not be angry 
with her. There were tears in the eyes of everybody. 
Vera was crying softly. And all the grief was as so 
many daggers in the heart of the unhappy girl. 

“Go on,” she said. “Cry for me. Every look of pity 
and every sign of grief stings me to the quick. Perhaps 
I am mad; perhaps I am not responsible for my actions. 
But I swear that all the time I have been plotting against 
your lives I have cared for you. Only my training and 
my religion forced me on. Call me insane if you please, 
as you say of the fakir who sleeps upon a bed of sharp 
nails. I could explain all the mysteries ” 

“You need not,” Ralph said. “I can do that in good 
time. From the first I knew you, from the first I have 
dogged you from room to room at night and frustrated 
your designs. Then came Tchigorsky, who finished the 
task for me. Need I say more?” 

Marion moved towards the door. The imploring look 
had gone from her face; her eyes had grown sad and 
hopeless. And yet in the face of her confession, in face 
of the knowledge of her crimes, not one of them had the 
slightest anger for her. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS, 317 

“I am going,” she said. ‘Tn the event of this happen- 
ing, I had made my plans. It may be that I shall have 
to take my trial; it may be that I shall be spared. One 
thing you may be certain of — my mother will never stand 
in the dock.” 

Ralph rose and slipped quietly from the room. 

“If she dies, if anything happens to her,” Marion went 
on, “it may be possible to spare me. Nobody knows any- 
thing to my dishonor outside the family but Dr. Tchigor- 
sky, and you can rely upon his silence. If my mother is 
no more there need be no scandal. Farewell, farewell 
to you all! Oh, if Heaven had been good to me, and 
sent me here as a little child, then what a happy life 
might have been mine I” 

She passed out of the room and nobody made any 
attempt to detain her. It was a long, long time before 
anybody spoke and no voice was raised above a whisper. 
The shock was stupendous. In none of their past sorrows 
and troubles had their feelings been more outraged. 

The cloud lay heavy upon them all ; it would be a long 
while before it passed away. Ravenspur rose at length, 
his face white and worn. 

“We can do no good here,” he said. “Perhaps sleep 
will bring us merciful relief.” 

It was at this moment that Symonds looked in with 
her information. It was no shock, because all were past 
being shocked. Vera cried on Geoffrey’s shoulder. 

“I am glad of it,” she whispered ; “it’s an awful thing 
to say, but I am glad. It saves Marion. We shall never 
see her again ; but I am glad she is saved.” 

* * 

A young couple were looking down on the Mediter- 
ranean from the terrace of an old garden filled with the 
choicest flowers. The man looked bronzed and well, the 
girl radiantly happy. For grief has no abiding place in 
the eyes of youth. 

“Doesn’t it seem wonderful, Geoffrey?” the girl said. 


3i8 the mystery OF THE RAVENSPURS 


“Positively I cannot realize that we have been married 
three weeks. I shall wake up presently and find myself 
back at Ravenspur again wondering what dreadful thing 
is going to happen next.’^ 

Geoffrey touched a letter that lay in Vera’s lap. 

“Here is the evidence of our freedom,” he said. “Read 
it to me, please.” 

Vera picked up the letter. There was no heading. 
Then she read : 

“I am near you and yet far off. I hear little things 
from the world from time to time, and I know that you 
are married to Geoffrey. I felt that I must write you a 
few lines. 

“I am in a convent here, in a convent from whence I 
can never emerge again. Heaven knows how many 
human tragedies are bound up in these gray old walls. 
But of all the miserable wretches here there is none more 
miserable than myself. Still, in my new faith I have 
found consolation. I know that there is hope even for 
sinners as black as myself. 

“Will it sound strange to you to hear that I long and 
yearn for you always; that I still love those whom I 
would have destroyed? I meant to write you a long 
letter, but my heart is too full. Do not reply, because 
we are not allowed to have letters here. 

“Heaven bless you both and give you the happiness 
you deserve! 

“Marion.” 

Geoffrey took up the letter and tore it into minute 
fragments. The gentle breeze carried it over the 
oleanders and lemon trees like snow. 

Down below the blue sea sparkled and the world 
seemed full of the pure delight of life. 

“Geoffrey,” Vera said after a long pause, “are we too 
happy ?” 

“Is it possible to be too happy?” Geoffrey replied. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENSPURS 319 


‘‘Well, too selfishly happy I mean. It seems awful to 
be so blissful when Marion is full of misery. I shall 
never feel anything but affection for her. It seems a 
strange thing to say, but I mean it. Poor Marion.^^ 
Geoffrey stooped and kissed the quivering lips. 

“Poor Marion, indeed!’’ he said. “Marion was two 
distinct persons. Of all the shocks we ever had, her con- 
fession hurt me most of all. A creature so sweet and 
pure and good, a veritable angel! It is sufficient to 
utterly destroy one’s faith in human nature. It would 
if I hadn’t got you.” 


THE END. 







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